<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Bring Me To Life by Phoenixofslytherin</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27856893">Bring Me To Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenixofslytherin/pseuds/Phoenixofslytherin'>Phoenixofslytherin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ancient Rituals, Ancient magic, Auror Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Azkaban, Blood Magic, Blood magic ritual, Bring Back Black | Sirius Black Returns From Beyond the Veil, Department of Mysteries, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Happy Ending, Healing, Healing from the War, Hogwarts Castle, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Mystery, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Space vortex, Threesome - F/M/M, Unspeakable Blaise Zabini, Unspeakable Hermione Granger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:00:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>74,643</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27856893</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenixofslytherin/pseuds/Phoenixofslytherin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The war ended five years ago and Hermione has never truly dealt with the trauma it left behind. Stuck in a rut and finally reaching rock bottom she decides to make a change. Healing, it seems, comes in the raven hair of her best friend and the smoke grey eyes of someone quite unexpected. Her first small, baby steps lead to big changes, and before Hermione knows it a whole new life is upon her. The war taught her that life can be unpredictable. The reality of this new, post war worlds is beyond even her wildest dreams. Can Hermione really be part of the first team of Unspeakables to ever figure out the mysterious stone arch in the Death Room of the Department of Mysteries? And can they really bring the last person who happened to fall through it back to life?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Daphne Greengrass/Theodore Nott, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley/Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom/Pansy Parkinson, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>381</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>2020 Dramione 50k Classic</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Heeeeellooooooo!! Welcome to my brand new fest story......!! I really hope you like it. </p><p>Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me but are the property of J.K.R. and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended. Thank you to my alpha and/or beta for their time and help.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione looked at the clock for what felt like the millionth time that evening. Harry was late. Again. She sighed, restlessly slamming her book down and getting up to peer out of the window into the lamplit, shadowy square outside of Grimmauld Place. She knew it was a pointless exercise, she wouldn’t see him approach, he would either apparate home or use the floo, but growing up in the muggle world had taught her to watch out of windows if someone was late home and it was a habit she couldn’t seem to break. </p><p> </p><p>She sipped from her glass of wine and pulled her dressing gown tighter around herself, perching in the bay window to watch the people hurrying by. There were couples walking hand in hand, a drunken neighbor swaying as he staggered home, and a businessman in a sharp suit carrying a briefcase, rushing off to somewhere unknown. Even at this time of night, the square was busy, but there was no sign of Harry. Where the hell was he? She groaned, knowing that she probably didn't want to know the answer to that. </p><p> </p><p>She had a rather eerie sense of deja vu. She remembered sitting in this very window with Harry and Ron, staring into the square and keeping watch for Death Eaters during the war. Happily, she didn’t have to worry about that particular threat these days, but the feeling of watching and waiting with the pit in stomach feeling like lead was the same, and it was currently triggering her not so well hidden anxieties. She drank the rest of her wine in far too short a time then accio’d the bottle over for a refill. </p><p> </p><p>It was half-past eleven on a Friday evening, and she knew that most people would raise an eyebrow at her for freaking out about Harry’s whereabouts at such an early hour. But, he had gone out straight from work, promising to be home by ten as he knew she hated being on her own at night. </p><p> </p><p>One of Harry’s best qualities was that he always kept his promises unless he was unable to. The last time anything like this had happened, he hadn’t returned until the next morning when he’d sheepishly apologized, gone straight to bed, and refused to tell her where he had been. She still didn’t know the exact details of that misadventure, but she knew that the muggle police had been involved, and with the mood Harry had been in all this week she was worried that tonight would be another night when he would get himself into trouble. </p><p> </p><p>She sighed again, reaching for her glass and looking back into the dimly lit room. </p><p> </p><p>Grimmauld Place looked as unwelcoming as ever. She shivered, glancing into the shadows and forcing herself to move back to the sofa to pick up the book she had been reading. The television was playing a film, but she had given up trying to watch that a long time ago. It was dark and cold in the lounge, the house was closing in on her and she <em> really </em> hated being alone. </p><p> </p><p>She was barely noticing the effect the wine was having. These days she seemed to be drinking more and more, and the corresponding effect of the alcohol seemed to be getting less and less. The shadows looked like they were moving as she glanced back into the square and then into the foreboding room, her pulse picked up until it was thundering through her veins and her skin started to turn cool and clammy.</p><p> </p><p>She opened her book back to where she had left off then waved her arm to light the candles in the darker corners. She could feel the beginnings of a panic attack coming on, her whole body was slipping into hyper-alert mode and her breathing was becoming tight and shallow. She had never liked this house, her and Harry’s attempts to make it habitable had improved things considerably, it was now clean, dry, and freshly decorated, but it still felt unwelcoming, with far too much dark, intimidating space and too many unhappy memories. </p><p> </p><p>She tried to calm herself using the techniques her mind healer had taught her, but nothing was working. She could feel unknown eyes on her, was it just the memory of Kreacher, prowling menacingly through the halls, or was something really there? </p><p> </p><p>A flash of silver light on the television made her gasp. Had it been an innocent camera flash or was it the silver eyes of a Death Eater mask? With a squeak of fear, Hermione picked up her phone. She tried Harry again, but as she’d expected, there was no answer. She didn’t know who else to call. Scrolling through her contacts, she paused at Ron’s name and then sighed. She knew he would drop everything to help her if she asked, but the chances of him answering his phone at this time on a Friday evening were next door to nil. </p><p> </p><p>No, Ron would be out living it up, as he always seemed to be these days. He’d probably have his arms around some willing witch right now, as he, Seamus, and Dean spent the night dancing in one of the more eligible nightclubs in wizarding London. </p><p> </p><p>Her fingers paused over Ginny’s name but she felt unable to call her either, Ginny would probably be away and resting, getting ready for the Harpies match the next day. Added to that, Hermione didn’t think she had spoken to Ginny in weeks, or more likely months, she could hardly just call her up now to say that she was afraid of the dark. </p><p> </p><p>She kept scrolling. Past Hannah, Luna, Neville, and Parvati’s details, then she started at the beginning again and stared at the more surprising entries, Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, and Pansy Parkinson. A year ago she would never have dreamt that those names would be in her contacts book, but there they were. Harry worked closely with Draco in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as Aurors, and Blaise and Pansy were Draco’s friends. As the years passed and the more powerful feelings that had divided them during the war had mellowed, their friendships had grown, but not to the point where Hermione felt comfortable calling any of them with her current crisis.</p><p> </p><p>Where the hell was Harry? She groaned as she swung her legs off the sofa again and stared once more into the dark square. She glanced back at the clock, but only ten minutes had passed since she had last looked. Being alone with her fears was becoming intolerable tonight. She sat back down as the realization crashed over her, she had no one that she was comfortable enough to call for help. She had cut herself off from everyone and she was alone. Harry was her everything and when he wasn’t beside her, she went to pieces. </p><p> </p><p>An hour later, after three more desperate scrolls through her useless phone, she gave in and called Ron. His phone rang until his cheery voicemail picked up and the sound of his familiar voice caused her to burst into tears. Struggling to speak, she swallowed her pride, asked him to call her back, and hung up. Then, giving in to anger and embarrassment at her self-induced predicament, she hurled the phone across the room in a fit of rage that would have rivaled Harry on a bad day, curled up into the fetal position, and cried herself to sleep on the sofa. </p><p> </p><p>A sudden bang at the front door woke her, and she instinctively grabbed her wand, pointing it toward the door with a shaking arm before she had even properly opened her eyes. The door burst open and Harry was practically thrown over the threshold by a rather furious looking Draco. “Steady on,” Harry protested, “you don’t know your own strength!”</p><p> </p><p>“I'm perfectly aware of my strength, thank you very much. It’s not my fault that you can’t hold your whiskey Potter. And, quit berating me, if I hadn’t done what I did you’d have been in those bloody cells all night. Evening Granger.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco did a rather comical double-take at the sight of her in checked flannel pajamas, and a fleece dressing gown with puffy, red-rimmed eyes. “Where have you been?” she cried, “Oh Harry, what happened?!” Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth, staring in horror at the angry black eye and bloodied nose that Harry was currently sporting. “Who did this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Potter was arrested by the muggle police, Hermione. Drunk and disorderly was the charge they used.” Draco sighed. “He nearly got Breach of the Peace and Affray added as well. Mate, you need to get a grip, if you’re going to go out and get wasted, don’t get into fights as well!”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t mean to get into a fight,” Harry protested, “and I’m not actually that drunk. Yet. What’s wrong with you ‘Mione?” he swayed slightly as he stared at her with wide eyes as if noticing her for the first time. Merlin, did she look that bad?</p><p> </p><p>“I, um, I was worried about you.” She admitted, rushing forwards to hug him as Draco shook his head and crossed the kitchen, pointing his wand at the stove to set the kettle to boil. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine!” Harry protested, pulling her into a rather unsteady hug. “But you're clearly not. I’m sorry I’m so late, it wasn’t intentional. What happened, was it a panic attack?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded sadly, “I didn’t know where you were, you said you’d be in by ten.” She trailed off, squirming with embarrassment under the scrutiny of Draco’s grey eyes. She knew she had overreacted, she didn’t need him pointing it out. She took a deep breath, ready to defend herself if need be, but all that showed on his face was sympathy and understanding. </p><p> </p><p>Why did everyone else in the world seem to be coping with life so much better than her and Harry? “What did you mean Draco, if you hadn’t done what you did he’d have been in the cells all night? What did you do?!” her eyes widened as his words made their way through her still fuzzy brain making her gasp, “Harry! Were you really arrested? Again!”</p><p> </p><p>Draco paused as he set mugs on the side and added teabags. A slight tension formed in his broad shoulders and Hermione froze. “What did you do Draco?” she almost shrieked, as memories of exactly what he was capable of flashed through her mind.</p><p> </p><p>He spun around to face her. “I got him out of the cells! Jesus Granger, relax. Harry called me for help and I helped. Alright?”</p><p> </p><p>“How did you get him out?” she grabbed Draco’s arm as he turned away from her with a carefree chuckle to heap sugar into mugs. Realizing what she had done she released him with a jolt and stepped hurriedly back. </p><p> </p><p>“A couple of confounding charms and one little Imperio which I’ve since deleted from my wand before you panic.” He offered her a steaming mug of tea with a smirk, “As I said, Harry called and asked me to get him out, I got him out.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione opened her mouth in shock. “You used magic in front of the muggle police?!”</p><p> </p><p>Draco rolled his eyes, “Turn it down Granger, the whole street will hear you!”</p><p> </p><p>“They won’t,” Harry said. “This house is privacy warded.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is it now?!” Draco cocked an eyebrow and Harry laughed. “That’s good to know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Boys, focus! Malfoy you used magic in front of muggles, are you crazy?!! An unforgivable curse as well!!”</p><p> </p><p>Draco rolled his eyes as if praying for patience. “No. Listen to what I’m telling you. I didn’t use magic in front of muggles, I used magic <em> on </em> muggles. Those are two very different things. I deleted the unforgivable afterwards so no trace of it exists anywhere, and the only witness was Harry.”</p><p> </p><p>“But!” she huffed as he deliberately avoided the point. “You still used it!”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course I fucking used it, you silly witch. Harry asked me to do something so I did it. Harry even admitted to calling me for that very reason. It’s not your decision, it’s not on your conscience. So,” he smirked infuriatingly, “don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione looked at Harry but he just shrugged. “Thank you,” she said, finally taking the tea from Draco and settling herself rather stiffly at the table. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you thanking me for the tea or for helping keep Potter on the straight and narrow?” Draco ruffled Harry’s already unruly hair. Hermione blinked at the gentle way his fingers sank into the black strands, and the way Harry closed his eyes to lean into Draco’s touch. It was a tender moment and it made the whole room freeze for a split second until Draco seemed to notice what he was doing. He yanked his hand away as if Harry’s head had burnt him and set his tea in front of him. “Doesn’t your hair <em> ever </em> lay flat?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, Vernon, it doesn’t,” Harry said, rolling his eyes as Draco peered at him in confusion.   </p><p> </p><p>“Who’s Vernon?” Draco settled down across the table, a very faint blush still coloring his cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“My Uncle,” Harry said, touching his nose gingerly. “‘Mione, I think my nose might be broken.”</p><p> </p><p>“It usually is.” She looked around for her wand. Less than ten minutes ago she had been clinging desperately onto it in fear, now she had no idea where it was. </p><p> </p><p>Draco picked his own wand up and pointed it into Harry’s face. “Episkey.” Harry jumped with a hiss of pain as his nose clicked back into place. </p><p> </p><p>“Ouch!” he said, touching it gently.</p><p> </p><p>“Stay there,” Hermione watched as Draco stood up, took some paper towels off the roll by the sink, wet them, then handed them to Harry, “I draw the line at doing it myself, but here, clean yourself up, you look terrible.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks.” Harry dabbed carefully at his nose with a wry smile as Draco sighed and Hermione fidgeted with her mug. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you for bringing him home,” she said quietly. “I appreciate it.” </p><p> </p><p>“Even if you don’t appreciate my methods?” he smirked, and as she bit her lip his smirk morphed into a rather fetching grin. “No problem. But seriously Harry, this isn’t the first time, you’ve done this, you really need to get it together.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I know it’s not. I will get it together a bit more I promise. After tonight that is. Anyway, I haven’t had that much to drink, either that or it’s worn off, do you fancy a nightcap?”</p><p> </p><p>“Go on then.” Draco stretched his arms up over his head, easing the tension out of his neck. Hermione watched him appreciatively as the move made his shirt ride up, leaving an expanse of milky white skin exposed. She stared at it appreciatively as Harry grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey from the shelf behind him and poured a hefty measure into each of their mugs. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione watched the pair of them as they leaned back in their chairs, chatting easily. “What happened tonight anyway?” Draco asked. “You never told me why you got into that fight in the first place?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, some guy thought it was okay to be abusive towards his girlfriend. He got all up in my face when I told him I didn’t like his attitude, so I moved him out of it. Then his mate stepped in and did this,” Harry indicated his still bloodied nose. “That’s when the bouncers threw us out and it turned into a street fight.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco pinched the bridge of his own nose and sighed. “Gryffindors. You can’t fix all of the world’s problems, Harry.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’d have let that one go then, would you?” Harry challenged.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Draco admitted, cracking his knuckles with another sigh, “I wouldn’t actually. I hate men who are aggressive to women. The difference here is, if I’d have hit him, he wouldn’t have got back up again. And his mate wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near me.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry stared at Draco then nodded once in acceptance. “We’re not all as big as you are though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe not, but size isn’t everything.” Draco’s tone changed rather abruptly and he grinned as Hermione blinked again. She was starting to feel like an intruder. What was going on here, since when had Harry and Draco <em> flirted </em>with each other so obviously? Had she grown so oblivious to the world around her that she had failed to notice what was clearly a growing attraction between them? </p><p> </p><p>They were locked into each other's eyes, just gazing at each other until Draco cleared his throat and turned to Hermione with a lick of his lips. He seemed at a loss as to what to say next, Hermione gazed back at him and he smiled. “What’s got you so upset tonight then Granger?”</p><p> </p><p>She sighed, grateful that the sexual tension had eased, but wishing it had been replaced with a different subject. Draco was the last person she wanted to discuss her current mental health crisis with. He sat at the table with his life clearly together, looking unreasonably attractive and calmly taking control of the evening, while she felt like a frumpy nervous wreck in comparison. “Nothing important,” she said finally, feeling her eyes brimming with tears again. </p><p> </p><p>“Really?” he didn't look convinced but she didn’t want to elaborate. Turning away she wiped a stray tear, hating how rude she was currently being, but feeling unable to go into any more details right now. </p><p> </p><p>Draco stood up. He might have been the one to say that size didn’t matter but really, it kind of did. He was huge, over six feet tall, toned, and fit from working out. She wondered what he did to stay in such good shape, she knew he played quidditch on the Ministry team, he and Harry shared the role of seeker and both of them were so far unbeaten, but simply flying a broom wouldn't give him muscles like that…. </p><p> </p><p>“Like what you're seeing tonight Granger?” he asked with a grin as he drained the last of his hot toddy. She blushed furiously and muttered something about overconfidence not being an attractive quality. He laughed. “Keep telling yourself that then, beautiful. You know where I am if you decide you want to find me.”</p><p> </p><p>He turned to Harry, “Can you keep yourself out of trouble for the rest of the night do you think?”</p><p> </p><p>“Probably not.” Harry sighed dramatically, and Hermione gasped in response to the scorching look he gave Draco. </p><p> </p><p>She was even more shocked to see that the admiring look was returned. With interest. “I’d offer to stay to keep you occupied but that might just get us <em> both </em> into trouble,” Draco said with a wink as Harry’s eyes darkened in reply. “Assuming you can stay out of jail, I'll see you at work Monday. Unless,” he paused, “unless you fancy coming out with us tomorrow evening?” He turned back to Hermione, “both of you that is. The White Wyvern in Knockturn Alley, 8 pm if you fancy it, Pansy and Blaise will be there along with a few others. Owl me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Couldn’t I just text you?” Harry grimaced, it's much quicker. </p><p> </p><p>“Owl me, text me, send me a fucking carrier pigeon if you prefer. Just get your arses to the pub tomorrow evening. Both of you.” He flashed them both a heart stopping grin, turned on his heel and apparated away with a resounding pop.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Go on then, let’s get it over with,” Harry turned back to Hermione with a grimace and poured another generous measure of whiskey into each of their cups. </p><p> </p><p>“Get what over with?” she asked with a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“The lecture I wholeheartedly deserve.” </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t have a lecture. I understand why you did what you did. I was just so worried about you, and I freaked out being here alone. Now I feel, oh I don't know what I feel.” She downed the entire measure of whiskey, coughing as it burned her throat. “Silly is what I feel. Answer me one question though, please. Why did you call Draco and not me?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry’s eyes widened by a fraction then dropped to the table in front of them. “Because I knew he’d get me out of the cell without anything else ending up on my record.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded. “Whereas I wouldn’t?” To her dismay, Harry slowly shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>She’d known that was the reason, but she’d needed to hear him say it. Harry had called Draco with his devil may care attitude and his questionable morality over herself, the girl who always did the right thing, the legal thing, the expected thing. The girl who was supposed to be his best friend. Right now she’d had enough of who she was and all that she currently stood for. “I’m going to bed.” </p><p> </p><p>Harry sighed as she stood up and swayed violently on the spot. “How much have <em> you </em> had to drink tonight, Hermione?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don't know,” she admitted. “I opened a bottle of wine,” she staggered into the lounge, retrieved the almost empty bottle, and plonked it on the kitchen table with a bang. “Apparently quite a lot.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, ‘Mione,” Harry pulled a face as she sat back down. She just nodded. She knew what he meant without him needing to say anymore. Neither of them could carry on like this. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, both pondering the state that their respective lives and feelings were in. “Thank you,” Harry said eventually.</p><p> </p><p>“What for?”</p><p> </p><p>“Being okay about this.” Hermione watched him as he leaned back in his chair. He held her eyes with his own, and she caught a glimpse of the vulnerability that he very rarely let show. He was looking at her in the exact same way he had looked at Draco earlier. She gasped as the realization hit. Was he just drunk or was he flirting with her as well?</p><p> </p><p>“What are you thanking me for?” She asked absently, aware that she had lost her entire train of thought in Harry’s emerald eyes. Green as a fresh pickled toad, Ginny had once said. Hermione giggled, then stopped abruptly as she thought painfully of Ginny and her heart contracted with sadness at their current emotional distance. </p><p> </p><p>“Tonight. Everything that’s happened, why did you just giggle?” His face was the picture of confusion and she laughed again.</p><p> </p><p>“I just remembered something. Then it made me sad.” Hermione sighed. She had been going to tell him off, when he had fallen through the front door she had been ready to let rip at him but that was more due to her shredded nerves than anything else. </p><p> </p><p>She was starting to dislike the image that other people seemed to have of her. It was true, she mused, she had become rather entrenched in her ideas of how people should behave. Her rule following and obsession with doing the “right” thing had become annoying, and seemed to have pushed her friends away. </p><p> </p><p>Her current levels of anxiety had caused her to revert to the bossy know it all she had been at eleven years old and she hadn’t even noticed it happening. The memory of Ron telling Harry that nobody liked her crashed into her mind with the force of the mountain troll that she’d been stuck in the bathroom with that same day. She didn’t want to be that person anymore.</p><p> </p><p> “Uh, Hermione? Earth to Hermione?” Harry was tapping his fingers on the table and it obviously wasn’t the first time he had tried to get her attention.</p><p> </p><p>“I think I’m going to take that job,” she said. </p><p> </p><p>“As an Unspeakable? I thought you turned it down again?” Harry asked, blinking at the abrupt change of subject.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t, actually. I just told you that so I could avoid having to talk about it anymore. I didn’t want to face up to the reason I was hesitating about it so much.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Harry watched her through narrowed eyes. “And what exactly is that reason?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m scared, Harry. I’m scared of everything right now. If you’re not with me I'm scared of my own shadow. I hate working where I am, fighting for werewolf rights is almost impossible against the powers that be, but it’s the type of job everyone expects me to have, so I have it, and I grit my teeth and I smile nicely when I want to punch my boss in the face. I’ve become so tied up with doing what everyone expects perfect little Hermione Granger-” she wiggled her fingers into air quotes, “-to do, that I’ve lost sight of what I want to do. I want to quit my stupid, frustrating job and go and be an Unspeakable. I’ve trapped myself into a little box of other people's expectations and I didn’t even realize it.”</p><p> </p><p>She paused, looking sadly down at the table, “I was terrified earlier tonight, I looked through my phone and there was nobody, <em> nobody </em>that I felt I could call. I left Ron a hysterical message that he’ll most probably pick up next week and then come flying round in a panic when it's miles too late. I literally have nobody, and nothing inspires me, everything is just flat, grey, and scary right now! Maybe I have to do what April, my Mind Healer says, and just go and do things anyway, even though they may be scary. I think we should go out tomorrow night. Merlin Harry, I can’t live like this anymore! When I think, what we were, what we did five years ago, defeating Voldemort, we had excitement and color in our lives, feelings, and realness, and now it’s just shades of grey. Gloomy, dark, boring grey. I think,” she stood up and swayed on the spot, “I think I've had enough of living in a box.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” Harry said, regarding her curiously. “That spark of outright passion was just classic you, Hermione, but its been missing for a very, very long time.” He grinned, “I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed it. We’ll go out. You take the job. And if anyone says anything about you stepping outside of the box, tell them to shove the box up their fucking arse. And, if you can do all of that, then, as of tomorrow I’m not going to drink to excess anymore.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione stared at him and seeing that he was serious, nodded in relief. Harry’s eyes, intense at the best of times were once again fixed unblinkingly onto her. “Oh, there’s one more thing while we seem to be confessing our sins.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” She stood up and fetched two glasses of water, set one down for Harry, and sipped from her own. </p><p> </p><p>“You might be right.”</p><p> </p><p>She narrowed her eyes. “How so?”</p><p> </p><p>“Malfoy. Draco. There might have been a development.” Hermione said nothing, just stroked a finger down the side of her glass and tried not to let her emotions show. She knew what Harry was going to say. She’d seen the way they both looked at each other, the way they spoke to each other, and then there were all those little hints of affection they’d shown each other tonight.</p><p> </p><p>Her newfound and tenuous positivity abruptly fizzled away. She was suddenly terrified that she was going to lose Harry to Draco, just like she’d lost everyone else in her life. She didn’t trust herself to look at him right away, her giggles and brief happiness were suddenly gone, and unreasonable tears were brimming yet again. She knew she would let her feelings show if she so much as raised her eyes to his. </p><p> </p><p>“I think I like him,”  Harry continued, oblivious to her sudden despair, “and I think, although in truth I’ve had far more to drink than I admitted to him and therefore I could be misreading things, but I think he might like me too.” </p><p> </p><p>“Of course he does,” Hermione snapped, much more harshly than she had intended. “Anyone can see that. And he asked you out tomorrow night-”</p><p> </p><p>“Us, Hermione, he asked us. He likes you too. He likes both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione snorted in a very unladylike way. “Don’t be ridiculous!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not.” Harry stared at her very intently. “He told me he liked you ages ago, he’s never made a secret of that fact, he’s just never done anything about it. Anyway,” he stood up, giving her a pointed stare, “Triads are all the rage these days in the magical world it would seem, or so he keeps telling me anyway. Think about it. I’m going to bed.” He paused at the door, “come sleep with me tonight Hermione, please? I don't want you to be alone, you seem a bit emotional still.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, watching him leave the kitchen with a sigh. When she made it upstairs ten minutes later he was already asleep, so she slipped under the duvet on her usual side and felt him move towards her. He sleepily reached out and she snuggled back against him in their usual sleep position, finding it instinctively, even though they hadn't slept like this for a while. </p><p> </p><p>“Love you, ‘Mione,” Harry whispered. “I’ve always loved you and I always will.” She smiled sadly. While that was undoubtedly true, she knew that there was a very big difference between loving someone platonically, the way Harry loved her and being in love with somebody. “Oi!” he nudged her and she turned her face towards him in the dark, “you're supposed to say it back.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” despite herself she laughed. “Feeling a little insecure are you?” his answer was a low growl deep in his throat as he pulled her closer into him. Rather confusingly she could feel him hard and twitching against her lower back. That was new. She arched against him very slightly to test his intention then gasped softly as he rolled his hips, pressing very deliberately into her. </p><p> </p><p>She gasped again, feeling her nipples harden underneath her flannel pajamas. Harry’s fingers curled around her hip as he moved against her once more. “Just so you know, even if you won’t say it back, I do love you, and I meant what I said about the triad thing. If you change your mind, let me know.” </p><p> </p><p>A moment later he relaxed against her, still holding her but not in the same way as before and very soon she heard his breathing settle as he fell asleep. Hermione shifted in his arms and let out a long, quiet sigh. “I do love you, Harry, that’s the problem,” she whispered. “I’ve always loved you and i always will.”</p><p> </p><p>It took Hermione a very long time to get to sleep that night. She snuggled into Harry’s arms, feeling them tighten protectively around her each time she moved. She smiled sadly, it was as if, even in his sleep he was scared she would try to leave him. </p><p> </p><p>She knew he liked Draco, even if it had taken him a while to realize it himself. No one could miss the heated glances they both threw each other, or the sharp innuendos that seemed to slip so easily into their conversations. She had a suspicion that half of the reason they had both been so obsessed with each other at school was because they both harbored secret feelings for each other. </p><p> </p><p>The problem was that despite Harry’s mention of a triad, she was sure it was just the whiskey talking. Things like that never happened in real life and in reality once Harry and Draco got together, which she thought was inevitable now, there would be no space left for her. </p><p> </p><p>When Harry and Draco got it together, she really would have nobody. She had to sort her life out. On that thought, and in Harry’s sweet but oblivious arms she silently cried herself to sleep.</p><p><br/><br/> </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Aaaaaand here is Chapter 2..... Thank you for reading and I hope your enjoying the story so far.....!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>When Hermione woke for the first time it was still dark, Harry was still wrapped all around her and she couldn't see the clock without moving and waking him up. She knew she hadn’t been asleep long, but suddenly her brain was sharply awake. “Nooooo,” Harry mumbled in his sleep, tightening his grip on her arm as he continued to snore softly. </p><p> </p><p>She hadn’t been asleep long enough for a hangover to develop, in fact, she could still feel the effects of the alcohol from the previous evening. Her head was spinning slightly and she was feeling emotional all over again, despite having cried herself out before falling asleep. </p><p> </p><p>She felt as if something fundamental inside her was changing. A long hidden part of her conscience was waking up and refusing to be silenced any longer. Recently she had felt blinded by a fear that was creeping insidiously into every aspect of her daily life, but tonight some of that finally seemed to be giving way. </p><p> </p><p>The spark of fire that she had so recently rediscovered was starting to burn brighter. Suddenly new possibilities felt within her reach. </p><p> </p><p>Maybe she’d needed to hit rock bottom before she could start to see the way up again. Laying sobbing with fear on the sofa and drinking her way through yet another bottle of wine had seemed to be the only possible solution last night, but this morning it no longer seemed acceptable at all.</p><p> </p><p>She moved slightly, getting comfortable within Harry’s warm embrace. It felt so right to be cuddled up beside him. They had slept like this for a long time after the war had ended and they were both living at Grimmauld, but when Harry had gone through a brief spell of bringing different girls home they had just stopped, and never spoken about it, nor done it again. Until tonight.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed, thinking back over the previous five years, trying to understand when and why she had started slipping down the emotional slope that had caused her to end up in such an anxious mess. </p><p> </p><p>Her fledgling relationship with Ron had crumbled shortly after the war had ended. Both of them had been subjected to the spotlight, and the subsequent fame had suited Ron perfectly, whereas she had shied away from the limelight and turned introspectively in on herself. </p><p> </p><p>A similar fate had befallen Harry and Ginny. Ginny had wanted to live the high life, free from the fear of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. She had thrown herself into life on the road with the Holyhead Harpies and her frustration at Harry’s lack of interest in socializing had culminated in her leaving him, and him just letting her walk away. </p><p> </p><p>After that Hermione had briefly found comfort in Harry’s arms, but then even he had started going out, drinking too much, and bringing unsuitable witches home. Whereas Ron and Ginny had been doing it for fun, Hermione knew that Harry was partying, taking risks and putting himself deliberately in harm’s way to block out the lingering war trauma that he had never properly dealt with.</p><p> </p><p>When Harry had distanced himself from her she had felt distraught. That had been the point that her self preservation had kicked in and she had fully closed herself off from the world. She was no occlumens but she had built better defenses around her heart and mind than some of the best mind guardians could attest to. For a while, she had lived comfortably behind her protection, but her self imposed prison had gradually become suffocating and she had slowly started dying behind her own handbuilt defenses.</p><p> </p><p>But then, suddenly last night, she had kicked a small hole in the walls she had so carefully built, and peering out at the outside world had felt tantalizing. She knew she could emerge from her cocoon if only she was brave enough. She’d hidden herself away, therefore she could choose to come back out. </p><p> </p><p>Harry’s warm body distracted her from her thoughts. His arm was draped possessively over her and she snuggled even closer, pressing into his warm chest and hoping that he would reach for her again, even if he was asleep and probably dreaming that she was Draco. </p><p> </p><p>Her breathing hitched as something hard and unmistakable male, something she hadn’t felt for a very long time pressed sharply into her back. “Hey,” he smiled in the darkness, lifting his head as he squinted sleepily down at her.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you were asleep,” she said, whispering unnecessarily since there was no one else to wake up.</p><p> </p><p>“Your overthinking woke me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry.” She smiled as he pulled her closer still. “Harry?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mmmhmm?” she ran her fingers in little circles over his arm, playing with his soft hairs as he rolled his hips forwards into her much more deliberately than he had last night. In answer she pressed back against him, wiggling her bottom and smiling at his answering gasp.</p><p> </p><p>“What you said... about, you know…. last night, did you...? I mean Draco’s a man and I’m-”</p><p> </p><p>Harry chuckled, saying nothing as she continued to stroke his arm. When she didn’t elaborate he sighed. “It's a good thing I can understand you isn't it? Yes, I meant what I said about the three of us. I’m bisexual, ‘Mione, that means I like men <em> and </em>women. A relationship with just one of you would always feel like the other is missing, although I don’t think that’s a common trait of being bisexual, so maybe that's just me. Although, maybe it's not, because Draco says he feels the same. It's all a bit confusing to be honest.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, tryng her best to understand what he meant. “I see. And what about the fact that it’s me? I thought you and I were just friends, I barely know Draco, plus there’s all the messy history between us....”</p><p> </p><p>“You and I <em> are </em> friends. But you know as well as I do that we used to be a whole lot more, even if I was too stupid to admit my feelings for you at the time.” It was too dark for her to see Harry properly and she was glad. This conversation was difficult enough without him being able to see the deep blush on her face. “It depends if you want us to be more than friends again?” he slid a hand lower on her stomach and she pulled in a shaky breath, squirming against him and starting to lose the ability to think clearly.</p><p> </p><p>She swallowed hard, trying to clear her muddled thoughts. To date, Harry was the only person who had ever affected her this way. “What do you want?”</p><p> </p><p>“I asked you first.”</p><p> </p><p>“You did.” She moved onto her back, desperately needing to put some distance between them before she completely lost her mind to his touch. She stared up at the ceiling and sighed. “It’s linked to what I said earlier, I want to stop feeling frightened, Harry. I want to find the girl I used to be, the one who was faced with certain defeat and instead of giving in, jumped onto a dragon's back and flew away with her best friends. The girl with fire in her soul and a dream in her heart. I feel like I lost that girl a long time ago.” She sniffed as she wiped away another tear. “I think that you are a big part of all that for me, but I don’t know how I feel about Draco just yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“When do you think you lost that part of yourself?” Harry asked. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione was quiet for a moment thinking. She knew the answer, she just wasn’t sure if she was ready to admit it out loud. Especially not to Harry. She sniffed instead of answering and another tear fell from her eye.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Harry wiped it away with the pad of his thumb, “where's all this coming from tonight?” </p><p> </p><p>In answer, she turned her face into his chest and lost herself to another sobbing fit. Harry held her, stroking her hair until she calmed. She took a deep breath, she had to tell him, and it was now or never. “I lost that part of myself around the same time I told myself I wasn’t in love with you. You make me feel safe,” she admitted, breathing in his familiar scent and using it to ground herself. “You make me feel whole. I do love you, I always have. I don’t want to lose you to Malfoy but that’s so selfish of me because you deserve to be happy-”</p><p> </p><p>She was cut off by Harry scooting down the bed. He put a finger under her chin, tilted her face up to his and captured her lips in a kiss. It was hot, slow, and it took her breath away. He pulled her against him, she only hesitated for a split second of pure shock before she threw caution to the wind and kissed him back. </p><p> </p><p>He tasted of familiarity, of fire, and of Harry. He rolled over, trapped her beneath him then pulled back to look at her. “Tell me to stop if you don’t want this.” His breathing was ragged as she wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him down onto her. She had no words, she just raised her head, kissing him back and pressing herself as close to him as she possibly could. </p><p> </p><p>That was when she finally understood what had happened to her over the past couple of years. Harry had pulled away, but she had remained in love with him for all this time, and denying that had nearly led to her downfall. “I said, tell me to stop if you don’t want me to do this. ‘Mione, I've missed you, I want you and I’ve always loved you, but if you don't want this between us then-”</p><p> </p><p>“Harry, shhh.” She whimpered as he settled beside her and slid his strong hands under her top. She reached for him, needing to touch him, to stroke him, and to pull him closer still. She needed him as she needed air. It was as simple as breathing, with Harry she could be herself. She could relax because he knew her inside out, better than she even knew herself. “I want you,” she whispered, kissing him with wild abandon, “and I love you too.”</p><p> </p><p>His fingers brushed over her nipples. He'd always known exactly how she liked to be touched, and how to squeeze with just the right amount of pressure to make her moan and whimper. She stroked a hand over the bulge in his boxers and felt him twitch against her. “I need you,” she gasped desperately, suddenly aware of how much she had missed him.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve got me, love,” he confirmed. With one hand he yanked his boxers down his legs and toed them off, and Hermione did the same with her own pajama bottoms. “I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.” He kissed her neck as his other hand dipped lower. “Fuck ‘Mione, you’re-” he broke off, kissing her again as he stroked a finger through her silken folds. She was more than ready for him, being so close beside him had kept her that way all night. </p><p> </p><p>She gasped as he slipped a finger inside her slick heat. He took his hand away then nudged the tip of himself against her. She squirmed impatiently, crying out as he sheathed himself deliciously inside her. “Oh Gods,” more tears slipped out of her closed eyes as Harry started to move, sliding slowly in and out. “Feels so good,” she muttered as he picked up the pace. </p><p> </p><p>Neither of them lasted long. She shattered around him with a groan and he collapsed, spent, on top of her, breathing hard and clinging onto her desperately. She was shaking as she gripped him just as tightly in return.</p><p> </p><p>They finally slipped apart and Harry held her close as she wriggled back into his arms, trying to keep as much of herself in contact with him as possible. Harry sighed contentedly, “I’ve missed you so much. It’s always so perfect with you.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded. Her eyes closed as she settled contentedly in Harry’s arms. Images of raven black hair and piercing green eyes often haunted her dreams, but tonight she also thought of moonlight blond hair and eyes as grey as smoke, and strangely the two melded together perfectly as she drifted back to sleep...</p><p> </p><p>Morning came, accompanied by the hangover that she'd been hoping to avoid. She opened her eyes to find Harry standing beside the bed, smiling down at her with a cup of coffee and a hangover potion in his hand. “Come on sleepyhead, here you go. You were muttering about going shopping today. It’s nearly lunchtime now.” </p><p> </p><p>Harry’s injured eye was black and swollen. Hermione gasped as she squinted at it in the bright daylight, “that looks sore.”</p><p> </p><p>“The other guy looked worse, don’t worry.”</p><p> </p><p>She laughed despite her concern. “Really?” She downed the potion, sat up, and swung her legs out of bed, blushing as a different twinge of soreness reminded her of what else had happened last night. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>She left herself plenty of time to get ready for their night out. It had been a strange yet satisfying day, the first in a long time where she hadn’t been crippled by any debilitating panic attacks. The day had started well, Harry had made her a very late breakfast, and after a shower she had apparated to Diagon Alley, intent on shopping for something new to wear that evening. </p><p> </p><p>She had paused for a few moments in the lounge before she left, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, the way April, her mind healer, had taught her to calm herself. She ran through her sensory checklist. Five things she could see, done. Four things she could hear, done. Three things she could touch, done. She closed her eyes to concentrate, two things she could smell, done. One thing she could taste. Oh! That would be Harry then. She opened her eyes as he kissed her deeply then stood back grinning. “Did I get the timing right? One thing you could taste?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. It was perfect.” She leaned in for another kiss before saying goodbye, taking a deep breath, then apparating away. </p><p> </p><p>She went to all her usual stops, in the usual order for reassurance. She felt fine today, being out and about in public on her own was proving to be okay. The war had ended five years ago, and she reminded herself that there was no need to check every doorway or alcove for Death Eaters. It was peacetime now and she was safe. </p><p> </p><p>She visited Flourish and Blotts, the apothecaries, and Gringotts, and then having completed all of her necessary tasks she hesitated. She could apparate home and do nothing for the rest of the afternoon. Or, she could do something she never usually bothered with. </p><p> </p><p>Taking a deep, calming breath and running through her checklist again she walked to the apparition point, shook her hair back determinedly then turned, folding away into nothingness. For the first time in years, Hermione Granger went clothes shopping in muggle London.</p><p> </p><p>When she finally arrived home she felt thoroughly pleased with herself. She had successfully kicked a few more bricks out of her self imposed walls, and conquering some of her fears felt liberating  . </p><p> </p><p>Harry looked up with a smile. He was sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by work related paperwork and he looked delighted to see her. She plonked a couple of containers of takeaway on the table for their dinner then hesitated, wondering whether to kiss him hello or not. He solved the problem for her by standing up, wrapping his arms around her, and kissing her very thoroughly indeed. “Hi,” he breathed, pulling back before she was quite ready.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi.”</p><p> </p><p>“What did you buy?” he tried to peek into her bags but she twitched them away with a smile. </p><p> </p><p>“Something new to wear tonight. Plus a couple of other things.” She grinned at his raised eyebrow, ate dinner with him then shut herself in the bathroom to get ready.</p><p> </p><p>It had been a long time since she had gotten dressed up for an evening out. It was something she had done very rarely even when she had been feeling good about life, but today was a new start. Flushed with her shopping success, she had emailed Unspeakable Z in the Department of Mysteries to accept his offer of a job. She wasn’t expecting a reply at this time on a Saturday, but at least it was done and she would appear keen. </p><p> </p><p>She eyed the half empty bottle of wine that was still in the bathroom from a previous evening as she let the bath run, then determinedly turned away. Tonight she would not get drunk because there was no need. She could do this without alcohol. Instead, she tipped bubble bath into the running water and settled in for a long soak. </p><p> </p><p>When she finally emerged nearly two hours later Harry did a double-take. “Umm, wow!” he said, his jaw openly dropping as he took her in. She smiled, stretching up to kiss him hello. “So, is this new look because you're feeling better, to impress me, or to impress someone else?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione smiled, delighted that her efforts were paying off. “Maybe a bit of all three.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry nodded, his eyes raking over her black velvet skirt, her dark blue glittery top, and her flowing chocolate curls. “I’m glad you're feeling better. I like this skirt very much, and I know Draco will too.”</p><p> </p><p>“In that case,” she smiled softly, “Mission accomplished. Shall we go?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry nodded, took her arm, and apparated her away. They landed back in Diagon Alley and Hermione faltered, the bright lights from the shop windows contrasted strongly with the menacingly deep shadows, making her fingers twitch nervously on Harry’s arm. “Why on earth do we have to meet in Knockturn?” She shivered, pulling her jacket around her, feeling suddenly uncomfortable in her short skirt and heels.</p><p> </p><p>She fought to stop the fingers of darkness that were creeping further across her heart with every step they took. The bottom of her stomach felt poised to fall out and her breathing picked up as they turned into the notorious alley. “Why couldn’t it be a pub in Diagon or Karkitt?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think Draco still feels uncomfortable in some of those places. They’ve come here for years anyway, it's what they do. They invited us, remember?”</p><p> </p><p>“You seem to know exactly where you're going too.” She forced herself to keep her tone light. She wouldn’t let the darkness win, she hadn’t come this far today to wimp out now.</p><p> </p><p>“Do I?” </p><p> </p><p>“Yes Harry, you do. Which I'm guessing means you've been here before.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe.” Harry grinned as they followed the narrow, dimly lit alley past Bougin and Burkes. Hermione faltered again, gripping his arm tightly. He stopped and turned her to face him. “Five things you can see, ‘Mione.” She looked around. Shops, lights, roadsigns, bricks, windows. “Four things you can hear.” Swallowing hard she nodded. The wind, chatter from passing people, a bird, and the sound of her coat rustling as she moved. “Three things you can feel.” Her uncomfortably high heels, Harry holding her hand, and the cool night air. “Two things you can smell.” Fresh air, Harry’s aftershave. “And,” he leaned in and kissed her again, lingering as he pulled her bottom lip between his teeth.</p><p> </p><p>Saying nothing more they continued on as if nothing untoward had happened. Harry led her past the tattoo shop then up a narrow flight of steep steps. He pulled the door of the White Wyvern open and they stepped inside. It was warm and relatively welcoming inside, full of chatter, music, and people, and while some of them did look decidedly dodgy, others looked just like themselves, young people out for a good time. </p><p> </p><p>“How often <em> have </em> you been in here Harry?” Hermione asked as the tall, pale-skinned bartender greeted him like an old friend. </p><p> </p><p>“He’s a vampire,” Harry said, deliberately avoiding the question as he led her over to a table in the corner of the pub. </p><p> </p><p>She faltered as Draco stood to greet her with a slow smile. His eyes slid very obviously up and down her body then settled firmly back on hers with an approving nod. “Granger,” he held out his hand. She took it, mesmerized by his eyes as he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them, before lowering her hand back down again. “You look exquisite tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione blushed. “Umm, thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>He smirked as he turned to Harry, “You’ve been keeping her tucked away, Potter. And seeing her like this, I can't say that I blame you.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry grinned, “You don't know the half of it mate.” He shook hands with Draco and they hugged, both of them holding on for a couple of beats longer than was proper. Draco turned back to the table at large and Hermione gasped, seeing most of Slytherin house from Hogwarts smiling up at her.</p><p> </p><p>“Good evening!” Blaise Zabini stood up to greet them both, as did Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, and slightly more reassuringly, Neville Longbottom. </p><p> </p><p>“‘Mione!” Neville said, looking surprised to see her. “How long has it been since I saw you last?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Far, far too long.” Hermione let Neville pull her into a bear hug. He set a stool between himself and Blaise, and Hermione gratefully sat down. Blaise poured her a glass of wine and she sipped it slowly. </p><p> </p><p>It was so easy to talk to Neville, it was as if they had never been apart. They chatted about everything, their Hogwarts days, Neville’s newish position as the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, his relationship with Pansy, and everything in between. In return Hermione told him about the new job she had just accepted, and all the time they were talking she was aware of Draco watching her subtly as he laughed and joked with the others. </p><p> </p><p>Draco, she noticed, also happened to be  sitting very close beside Harry, and occasionally when their arms brushed, they both jolted and stared heatedly at each other. </p><p> </p><p>“I love your skirt Granger,” Pansy said, squashing into the booth on Neville’s other side and accepting the arm he put around her. Hermione smiled, she had heard all about their relationship, it had been splashed all over the Daily Prophet for months as well, but she had never actually seen them together. While they weren’t a pairing that she could ever have imagined, it was obvious that they had chemistry. It was in the way Pansy looked adoringly at him, and the way Neville constantly touched or attended to her. They were clearly besotted with each other and it made Hermione smile to Neville so happy. </p><p> </p><p>She was conscious of drinking her wine slowly and of keeping up with the conversations going on around her. She was doing fine, she reminded herself, and in actual fact she really was. It felt so good to be out with people again, it didn’t take long for a little of her old confidence to return. </p><p> </p><p>She learned a lot about the others from just listening. Neville had been teaching at Hogwarts for a year now, and he appeared to be loving every minute of it. Pansy was currently designing award-winning fashion, she had managed the impossible it seemed, and combined wizarding dress robes with muggle formalwear to create something that was literally flying off the shelves. </p><p> </p><p>Daphne was a healer at St Mungo’s, specializing in accidental magic reversal and Theodore, her boyfriend was an artist.</p><p> </p><p>Blaise worked at the Ministry as his main job, but he further filled his bank vault by modeling Pansy’s clothing line on the side. “Where in the Ministry do you work?” Hermione asked, suddenly aware that although she knew Blaise relatively well through Harry and in turn, Draco, she had missed this little detail. </p><p> </p><p>“Well,” he said, leaning closer to her with a smile, “I suppose I can tell you now since I received your email of acceptance this afternoon, I’m an Unspeakable. I work in the Department of Mysteries and I’m set to be your new work partner.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione’s jaw dropped. “Oh! Oh, Merlin, I had no idea I was emailing you!!”</p><p> </p><p>“Unspeakable Z?” he grinned, “Didn’t give you a clue, no?”</p><p> </p><p>“No!” She laughed as she shook her head. </p><p> </p><p>Blaise sat back in his chair and spelled the wine bottle to refill all their drinks, “what made you finally change your mind about accepting the job? I’ve been offering you it for months.”</p><p> </p><p>A million things that she could say flashed through her mind but she settled on the blandest, “It just felt like the time was right for a change. I’m surprised you can even discuss it in the pub anyway. What happened to the shroud of secrecy Unspeakables are supposed to live under?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise just grinned, “a lot of that we build ourselves to come across as more intriguing than we really are. I find that telling someone I’m an Unspeakable works like a charm, they’re usually in my arms before I’ve finished the sentence.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione frowned at his outrageous words, “so, are you actually who I’m going to be working with then? Or are you just trying to chat me up?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise laughed. He crossed one leg over the other knee and gave her his best model’s smile. She could see why he was so popular in the witches magazines, he was beyond attractive. “I don’t generally embellish things to my friends even if I am trying to chat them up, which right now is proving rather tempting. Nice skirt by the way. But, I wouldn’t dare try that with you. Draco staked his claim on you years ago. We might be close friends, but no one with half a brain cell crosses a Malfoy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” she opened and closed her mouth uncertainly a couple of times, “even these days? I thought they’d all reformed?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise nodded. “Especially these days.” He watched as she digested everything he’d said. “Well, Hermione,” he tipped his glass to hers and she accepted his toast, “here’s to finally working with a partner. I’ve held out for you for months you know, refused to accept anyone else because I only wanted you. To be honest, the workloads have been a bit much, especially with my sideline career, so I can say in all honesty that it's about bloody time you joined me.” He grinned as he stood up to leave, “I’ll see you at work on Monday morning.”</p><p> </p><p>At the end of the evening, when everyone had said their goodbyes Hermione waited for Harry to come back from the toilet. “Ouch,” she said, standing up uncomfortably in the high heels she had bought earlier that day. It had been a lovely night, she had spent a lot of time chatting to people and moving around the table but now her feet were reminding her of the fact that she normally wore flats. </p><p> </p><p>“What's wrong?” Draco asked, seeing her frown as he followed Harry back to their table. </p><p> </p><p>“New shoes,” she muttered, feeling somewhat dwarfed as he towered over her despite the heels. “They're not very comfortable.”</p><p> </p><p>“They’re sexy as fuck though.” He pointed his wand at the offending footwear and cast a cushioning charm. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” She wiggled her toes gratefully. “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>“No problem. So, you finally found out what Blaise’s day job is then?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded. “It was quite a surprise. To me anyway. Did you all already know?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Draco said. “I also happen to know this is the third time he’s offered you the job. He’s very particular about who he works with.”</p><p> </p><p>“So he said.” She pulled her coat on and followed them both towards the entrance of the pub. “Which makes me wonder why he was so desperate to wait for me. He also said he uses his job as a rather effective chat up line.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco laughed. “Zabini uses anything and everything as a chat up line. Judging by the number of women who drop their knickers in his vicinity it works too.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry grinned. “Maybe I should try using my job title for the same purpose. Auror team leader sounds quite good, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco turned and fixed him with a look that said more than any words ever could. Harry stopped, staring straight back at him as Hermione walked into them both. “I would have thought you had enough women fawning over you already. Being the “Chosen One” must be terribly trying,” Draco said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. </p><p> </p><p>Harry licked his lips, smiling faintly, “it wasn’t a woman I was trying to attract, and you’re right I do get enough of those already. That’s why I like coming up here, you scare them all away nicely for me.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione cleared her throat. Draco raised a brow and smirked, “if you’d prefer me not to it could be arranged.” When they got to the bottom of the steps Harry stopped and stepped back against the wall letting Hermione pass. She took a hesitant step, not wanting to march out into Knockturn on her own at midnight. “Or, maybe despite your protests you quite like the possessive attitude. I care about what’s mine after all.” Hermione stared in shock as Draco caged Harry in, putting one hand on the wall on either side of him.       </p><p> </p><p>“You haven’t told me I'm yours,” Harry seemed to be having difficulty forming words. “Yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want me to spell it out for you?” Hermione stepped out into the alley anyway, despite her reticence it seemed preferable to spending any more time caught in the heat of Harry and Draco’s exchange. If she stepped any closer to them she thought she might combust. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes.” Either Harry had a hidden submission kink or he enjoyed tempting the devil. Hermione averted her eyes then jumped as Draco’s hand slid down her arm to her hand and tugged her back towards him and Harry.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait Granger.” With his free hand, Draco cupped Harry’s cheek, tilting his face upwards. “Last chance to run, Potter.” Harry didn't move. “In that case, you…. are….now... mine.” He crashed his lips down on Harry’s and kissed him with a passion that made Hermione’s knees weak. </p><p> </p><p>Harry kissed him back with just as much fervor and when they finally pulled apart they were both breathing hard and staring at each other in shock. “Mine,” Draco said again, releasing Harry who sagged bonelessly back against the wall. “Understand?” Harry nodded, staring deeply into Draco’s eyes as if hypnotised. “And where were you off to?” Draco asked, breaking their stare down and turning his attention to Hermione.</p><p> </p><p>“I was, uh, trying to give you some privacy.”</p><p> </p><p>“You do know where we are right?” she nodded. How could she forget? “Don’t go wandering off on your own in Knockturn at this time of night.” She nodded again, the commanding edge in his voice sending shivers down her own spine. She looked down, he was still holding her hand. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you always this, this-” she trailed off, unable to find the words.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he nodded. “I am with the things I care about anyway.” She nodded weakly, her heart thundering in her chest. Did that mean he cared about her? “Hermione, look at me.” She did so, faltering at the intensity of his gaze. She knew he was a good enough legilimens to perform the spell wandlessly, it was one of the skills he used to such ruthless advantage in his job, after all. She wasn’t sure if he’d use it on her though, especially without her consent.” Seriously,” he asked, backing up with a defeated smile, “what is it with Gryffindors?”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?” she asked, startled.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t even try to put up a defense. You just turn those ridiculously trusting eyes on us and-” he broke off as Harry laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“Mate, you’ve never once looked into my mind without my permission. You wouldn’t do it to Hermione either so don’t kid yourself that you would.”</p><p> </p><p>“Too trusting by half. Both of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are we?” Hermione giggled. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes. Harry’s told you I like you as well, hasn't he?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded again, as the door to the pub opened and a gaggle of people came out prompting them to move away from the steps. “He, uh, he mentioned it.”</p><p> </p><p>“So since we’ve established that I won’t look in your mind, I guess I’ll need to ask the question.” He paused, shuffling his feet slightly as he stopped by a stone wall. He leaned back against it and she stopped in front of him, watching him in the lamplight.</p><p> </p><p>“What question do you need to ask?”</p><p> </p><p>“Whether I can take you both out on a date sometime?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione couldn’t help the smile, that stretched slowly over her face. “Yes, please Draco, I think that would be lovely.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And here is chapter three! I hope people are enjoying the story so far..... :-)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Monday morning dawned grey and gloomy. Hermione rubbed her eyes as she sat up in Harry’s bed. He had obviously gotten up before her, the bed was empty, the curtains were open, not that it made much difference because it was so dull outside, the heating was on and her fluffy dressing gown and slippers were waiting on the bed beside her. </p><p> </p><p>She smiled at his thoughtfulness, wrinkled her nose at the weather, and took a deep, calming breath. Today was the day she was due to resign from the job she had held at the Ministry of Magic for the past four years. </p><p> </p><p>She had mixed feelings about it all. She mostly hated the job, fighting for werewolf rights against people who remained staunchly against the very idea was infuriating at worst, exhausting at best. If she’d had one person quote Fenrir Greyback’s deeply unpleasant personality at her over the years, she’d had a million. </p><p> </p><p>Wizarding Britain was just anti-werewolf and despite years of trying she remained unable to change that. She hadn’t really wanted to give it up as a lost cause, but she needed a change before she went mad. She would still campaign for werewolf rights, but not as a job, and she would do it on her own terms. </p><p> </p><p>But, she mused as she stepped into the shower, the job was comfortable and over the years it had become her safety net. She could waltz in at whatever time suited her, do her thing and come home again with nothing to worry about afterwards. It was incredibly uninspiring, but it was safe and had never proved overly taxing. </p><p> </p><p>A lot of people had expressed surprise over the years that she was doing such a thankless, and frankly, boring job. They had raised an eyebrow that the supposed brightest witch of the age hadn't achieved more, or that she wasn’t actively climbing the Ministry ladder and trying to blaze a brighter than hellfire trail in her wake.</p><p> </p><p>Well, this morning she was certainly going to shake things up.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The halls of the Ministry were crowded, Hermione negotiated corridors full of people giving her second looks. She grinned rather cheekily at a man who did a double-take as she made her way to her office with her resignation letter clasped in her hand. </p><p> </p><p>She had chosen to carry on the new image she had formed the previous weekend, and the black pencil skirt, cream blouse and low heels she had chosen seemed to be causing a few eyebrows to raise already. She pushed back her jumble of newly styled curls with a smile, some of the people she passed seemed confused by her new image, but mostly the looks she was attracting were approving ones. </p><p> </p><p>Old Hermione seemed to be coming back a little more each day and if she was honest, it felt amazing. </p><p> </p><p>She pushed open the door to her office, stopped in her tracks and gasped. It was empty. Totally, completely empty. Her desk was clear, her shelves were bare and her belongings were all gone. On the desk lay a single white envelope with her name on it. Dropping her bag onto the floor she ripped the envelope open with another gasp. </p><p> </p><p>The writing on the letter inside was slanting and elegant. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Dear Hermione, </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Following your email and our subsequent discussion on Saturday evening, your employment has now been transferred to the Department of Mysteries. I have taken the liberty of moving your things for you. Please come to office number seven as soon as you are ready, your new post and induction will start this morning.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Furthermore, your old department has been informed of your immediate transfer and wishes you the best of luck with your new endeavors. Please wear this badge around your neck as you enter the D.O.M, it is charmed to become invisible as soon as you put it on. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Yours officially,  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Unspeakable Z. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> P.S. Potter informs me that it's coffee with two sugars and a danish pastry for breakfast. I'm just checking I have this right, it seems improbable since your parents were dentists. Also, please don’t worry, you haven’t signed up to the secret service, it all seems rather daunting when you start. I’ll look after you.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Unofficially,  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Blaise. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The letter burst into flames in her hand and with a squeal she dropped it into the empty wastepaper basket to watch it burn. What badge had Blaise meant? She picked up the envelope but it appeared to be empty. She fingered it curiously and felt a lump, she reached inside again and a badge materialized at her touch.</p><p> </p><p>Intrigued, she took it out to look at. On the front was a rather flattering photograph of herself bearing the title Unspeakable G, and on the back was a black, embossed letter Z. The whole thing was hanging from a smart black lanyard cord. She slipped it curiously over her head and it disappeared entirely once more. When she touched it, the badge reappeared. Otherwise, it hung there wholly invisible. </p><p> </p><p>She took a deep breath, revisiting Blaise’s letter in her head. Just what on earth had she gotten herself into? He may have said that it wasn’t like signing up for the secret service but she wasn’t so sure. She was very grateful for the friendly, less formal paragraph at the end of his note, even if it had given her a pang of regret at the mention of her parents. She gripped the empty desk in front of her, feeling her resolve slip. “Breathe Hermione,” she reminded herself, mentally running through her sensory checklist and missing the taste of Harry at the end.</p><p> </p><p>Making do with a mint from her bag, she rolled it around her mouth with her tongue as she stared at the empty office. It really had been thoroughly cleared and there wasn't a soul around. There was no point in waiting here any longer. </p><p> </p><p>Shaking her head Hermione folded up her resignation letter and tucked it into her bag. After one more glance around the now strangely oppressive room, she walked away, letting the door slam shut behind her. Its echo followed the click-clack of her heels as she made her way back down the corridor towards the lifts that would take her downstairs and to her new department. It suddenly all felt very strange indeed. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Hermione presumed that office number seven was downstairs in the Department of Mysteries, so she made her way along the long, black tiled corridor, all the way to the black door at the end, the same door that had permeated Harry's nightmares and caused them so much trouble in the past. </p><p> </p><p>It was unlocked, as it had been in Harry’s dreams. She stepped inside, the door closed silently and she closed her eyes, expecting the room to start spinning as it usually did. When she opened them again though, nothing had changed. The room was brightly lit, the many doors were staying still and a pleasant welcoming glow emanated from one of the furthest doors. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione stepped hesitantly forwards. Each door was labelled with a smart metal plaque. She grimaced as she read a few, “Time Room,” ”The Hall of Prophecy,” she shuddered, “Space Chamber,” “Blood Magic,” “Death Room,” she shuddered again at the sight of that one, thinking sadly of Sirius. </p><p> </p><p>It was very different from the last time she had entered here. An idea gripped her and she fingered her badge as she took it off. Immediately the room darkened, the doors lost their nameplates and started to spin. Hermione gasped and threw the badge back over her head until the doors stilled and the light returned. </p><p> </p><p>Shaken, she walked forwards to the door that seemed to be tempting her the most. It was simply labelled “Offices.” Pushing it open she stepped through and found herself in another long corridor with yet more doors leading off on either side.</p><p> </p><p>These doors were labelled with numbers, and she made her way along to office number seven, knocked and heard a male voice invite her inside. The door opened silently to reveal Blaise grinning at her from behind his desk. “Good morning!” he said, jumping up to greet her, “tell me, on a scale of one to ten, how cross have I made you right now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Cross?” Hermione asked, faltering slightly under his intense gaze, “Umm, I’m not cross. I'm confused and a little concerned about what I've got myself into if I’m honest. I thought I had to give my old job notice and work it through, I wasn't expecting to come straight here today.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah. Part of our job description gives us a certain level of control over the other departments you see. Technically I should have waited for you to sign this before I moved you in, but you seemed rather determined when I saw you in the pub, so I took your email as confirmation of your intentions.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sign what?” she asked in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>“This.” He waved his wand and a large piece of parchment appeared, floating in mid-air in front of her.  </p><p> </p><p>She took it, raising a brow at the amount of tiny writing on it. “I need a minute to read this, I can't just sign-” she looked up to see him laying out some of her things on her desk. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course. Take all the time you need. Here, this will be your desk, coffee, danish, and all your things are here. When you're done and you've either signed or decided to run away screaming, hold your thumb over the Z on the back of your badge. It will alert me and I'll come back. It’s a Protean charm. You and I are linked by our badges now, look.” He flashed her a heart stopping grin before turning his own badge over to reveal a black embossed letter G on the back. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh and Hermione, I know I said it before, but I'm very glad you accepted my offer to join me here. I’ll leave you to read the contract now, see you in a bit.” With a wink he was gone, leaving her with nothing but the scent of his expensive cologne and her own racing heart.</p><p> </p><p>The contract seemed straightforward enough. She read it through, noting that she would be taking a magical vow of secrecy. Once she had signed it she would not be allowed to repeat anything she did, saw or heard outside of work, or there would be magical consequences.  </p><p> </p><p>She accepted all of the contract's terms and signed her name. Her writing glowed briefly before settling back into black ink. Knowing that the magical terms of the contract had been fulfilled she called Blaise with her badge and smiled at his return message, “on my way,” then took a good look around the room. </p><p> </p><p>It was a very nice office indeed. It was a huge step up from the grotty little broom cupboard-like space she had previously inhabited. She may not know him terribly well yet but this office seemed to be a good reflection of Blaise’s personality. Expensive Italian furniture adorned the spacious room, the chairs were made of soft, black leather and the desks were big enough for, well, she shook her head to get that particular image out of her head. </p><p> </p><p>The shelves were full of books, she glanced at a few titles, The Time and Space Consortium, The Time Jar Conjecture, The Veil Anomaly, The Vortex Explained, Into The Nothing, The Debt of Time, these were definitely not your average light reading books. The Psychic Vortex, The Lunar Excitation…. What exactly was Blaise researching, she wondered, and why had he been so desperate for her to help? </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>She didn’t find out for the rest of the day. Directly after signing the secrecy contract, she had been whisked away for an induction with the head of the department, Gareth Greenness and by the time she was ready to leave at five her head was spinning with newly acquired information. </p><p> </p><p>She tried to call Blaise using the Protean charm on the badge he had given her, but all she got in return was a message saying that he was off-site, she was free to go home and that he would see her tomorrow. She sighed. It seemed to be fitting with the whole department that he had mysteriously disappeared right when she needed him.</p><p> </p><p>Instead of Blaise, she was surprised to find Draco waiting for her outside the D.O.M’s main door. He looked her appreciatively up and down and she smiled uncertainly back. “How was your first day in mysteryland?” he asked, and she blew out a slow and calming breath, taking a moment to look at him properly. </p><p> </p><p>The sight almost made her falter into an anxiety attack all over again. She had seen Draco in his Auror robes a couple of times before, mainly when she had visited Harry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but the haze of inertia she had been under for the last couple of years had apparently stopped her from noticing him properly at the time. </p><p> </p><p>Happily, that inertia had now cleared. “Are you alright there, Granger?” he asked as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down. Hard. He was stunning. His sheer size made him imposing at the best of times, his height coupled with the physique that for some unearthly reason she was only just starting to notice was very definitely calling to the feminine part of her that longed to be protected and cared for. His casually styled blonde hair and stormy grey eyes did nothing to ease the sudden butterflies in her stomach, and that sinful smirk was tugging at her insides in a most alarming way. Her mouth went dry as she suddenly saw what Harry meant. He was indeed, beautiful.</p><p> </p><p>“Umm yes thank you,” her cheeks heated in a blush, "it's just been a rather strange day.”</p><p> </p><p>“I imagine it would be down here. Want me to walk you out?”</p><p> </p><p>Silently she nodded, casting around for something to say. “Yes, please. How was your day?”</p><p> </p><p>He smiled, “it was quiet. We arrested some halfwit in Hogsmeade for threatening one of the shopkeepers then tracked a wannabe gangster who was trying to import jinxed brooms.” Draco rolled his eyes, “basically it was boring as fuck. We had lunch with Neville in the Hogs Head, that was the most exciting part of the whole day.”</p><p> </p><p>She laughed. “You like a little more action do you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!” He said it with such determination she couldn’t help but smile. “I like Longbottom very much but he’s hardly the pinnacle of excitement. Hopefully, tomorrow will be more dramatic.”</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t it wrong to hope people commit exciting crimes just so that you're not bored?” she teased as they made their way into the atrium.</p><p> </p><p>Draco stretched his arms up above his head as they waited for the lift, easing the tension out of his neck and shoulders and she couldn’t help but stare. “Probably,“ he grinned, “but sometimes living on the edge is more fun than toeing the line.” He was looking at her with that intense gaze again, she was beginning to think it was intentional, he seemed fully aware of the effect it had on her. Once outside of the Ministry she breathed in the cool fresh air, trying to calm herself once more. “What are you and Harry up to tonight?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t have any plans,” the calming technique wasn’t working and her heart was pounding suddenly, it seemed like such a leading question. “I haven’t seen Harry all day, I don’t know what his plans are.” </p><p> </p><p>Draco nodded. “I’ll owl him. Or maybe even send him one of those infernal text things he’s always wittering on about. It’s Daphne’s birthday and Neville invited me to their’s tonight. Pansy’s cooking, believe me that’s worth coming along for if nothing else. My invite handily has a plus two on it. What do you say, Granger? It’s not the official date I’ve promised you, but in the meantime, it might be fun.”</p><p> </p><p>She blinked, trying to keep her anxiety from showing. She swallowed, feeling herself starting to drown in those intoxicating eyes... “Yes please, that sounds lovely. Assuming Harry can make it as well, of course.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco nodded, his lips pulling up into a slow smile of his own. “I’ll find out in a few minutes. Assuming all is well, I’ll pick you both up at eight.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hermione chose another outfit from the selection she had bought in Muggle London. She wriggled into the tight jeans and after a lot of thought teamed them with an emerald green top, hoping that nobody read too much into her color choice. She had bought the top simply because she liked it. She hadn’t been thinking about Hogwarts politics at the time. </p><p> </p><p>Harry met her in the kitchen with an appreciative smile and a raised eyebrow. “I thought you outdid yourself the other night, now all I can do is stare at your bum,” he winked as he playfully swatted at her backside and she jumped out of the way. “Seriously ‘Mione,” his eyes were dark as he caught her hand, “you look beautiful.” </p><p> </p><p>She whimpered as he kissed her, it was obviously meant to be a peck but it immediately turned into something much more. Harry cupped her face with one hand then brought the other round to the back of her head. She leaned into him, gasping as he claimed her mouth. He walked her backwards until her back gently bumped into the wall. His hands wandered to her shoulders then down her back, then one slipped down her side and underneath her thigh, lifting it up and hooking it over his hip. </p><p> </p><p>They kissed hungrily, devouring each other until the roar of the floo sounded and Draco stepped into the room. He unfolded himself, brushing his clothes down with a grin. “Good evening,” he said, stopping short and taking an audible breath, before swearing softly at the sight in front of him. </p><p> </p><p>“Evening,” Harry grinned cheekily back as he let Hermione’s leg down. She frantically straightened her hair while looking apprehensively at Draco. </p><p> </p><p>“You got a kiss like that for me, Potter?”</p><p> </p><p>“Always,” Harry said, approaching him with a smile. This time it was Hermione’s turn to gasp as Draco and Harry embraced just as passionately.</p><p> </p><p>“Hermione.” Draco pulled away from Harry, produced a small potplant from the inside of his coat and held it out to her, his face alight with amusement. “According to Longbottom, this is a Calathea. It symbolises new beginnings and turning over new leaves. I was going to go for a simple flower and so I asked him which would be the most suitable, but you know, Neville, he’s insistent on getting things right. Apparently this symbolises our newfound friendly footing. Anyway, here you go.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you! That’s incredibly thoughtful, Draco,” she smiled as she took the plant, looking at it curiously. It was a rather handsome green, leafy houseplant and she was thoroughly touched by both the symbolism behind it, and the fact that Draco had gone to the trouble of seeking Neville out for the information in the first place. </p><p> </p><p>“No problem.” He was looking at her almost nervously, as if he didn't know whether to kiss her or not. She stretched up on her tip toe and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. He caught her hand as she made to move away, "while that was a lovely kiss Granger, that's not how you kissed Potter just now.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled. “I know him better than I know you.”</p><p> </p><p>“For now,” Draco agreed, squeezing then releasing her hand. She put the plant on the sideboard and turned to face both men. </p><p> </p><p>“Ready?” she asked. Draco nodded, called Pansy and Neville’s floo address into the fire, then stepped through himself, ready to meet them on the other side. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione toppled out into a cosy looking lounge just as Pansy hurried out of the kitchen to greet them with Daphne following behind. Theo and Blaise were already sitting on the sofa talking, and Hermione settled herself somewhat nervously opposite them, between Harry and Draco as Neville poured them all drinks. </p><p> </p><p>“How was your first day in the Department of Mysteries?” Daphne asked once everyone had finished wishing her a happy birthday and she had opened her cards and presents. </p><p> </p><p>“It was interesting.” Hermione chanced a sidelong look at Blaise, but he was deep in conversation with Theo and Neville. She told Daphne and Pansy about her things being moved from her office, and her mysterious start, the only thing she had been forbidden to disclose so far was the actual nature of her investigations, and since she hadn't started any of those yet, she figured it was safe to talk about her day.</p><p> </p><p>Daphne’s eyes were wide. “It sounds so intriguing, I’ve always wanted to have a proper look in that department but Blaise is very secretive about it all, and as you're finding out, it's like another world down there.”</p><p> </p><p>“It certainly is.” Hermione nodded, sipping her prosecco thoughtfully. </p><p> </p><p>Dinner was delicious. Draco had been right, Pansy was a truly wonderful cook. Hermione felt very full afterwards as she helped to tidy up. Everyone chipped in to help, and soon the little kitchen was bursting at the seams with people. The washing up was charmed, the plates and dishes flew into the air to put themselves away, and the sides scrubbed themselves clean. </p><p> </p><p>The whole clean up operation took less than ten minutes and Hermione smiled softly, remembering with a pang of sadness the dinner parties her parents had thrown when she was young, and the marathon clean ups required afterwards. Magic certainly was a wonderful thing. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione had spent much of the meal talking to Daphne and Pansy. It had been a pleasant surprise to find out just how much Pansy had mellowed since their schooldays. “So,” Pansy whispered once the boys had taken their drinks into the lounge and she, Hermione, and Daphne were alone to continue their conversation in the kitchen. “Spill the beans Granger.” She hopped up onto the kitchen counter and spelled the wine bottle to refill all of their glasses. “What’s going on between you, Draco, and Harry?” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione blushed and settled herself on the counter opposite. She picked at her new jeans, wondering what to say. “Actually, wait,” Pansy held up a hand, “let’s back up a bit further, can we? Where the hell have you been for the last couple of years? Nobody’s seen you in what feels like forever, but now, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, you seem to be everywhere!”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione breathed in deeply through her nose, closed her eyes for a second then slowly let the breath back out. “Hermione,” Daphne asked softly, “are you okay?” Hermione nodded, keeping her eyes closed as she ran quickly through her usual checklist. “I’ll be honest,” Daphne continued, “I did hear through the grapevine that you weren’t very well. I heard it was something like stress or anxiety, maybe even PTSD. Would you prefer us to stop talking about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh! Shit, sorry!” Pansy exclaimed as Hermione forced herself to focus. “Are you alright? I didn’t mean to trigger you into-”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione opened her eyes and smiled. “I’m fine. Thank you. I know you didn’t mean it like that, it's just that when something does trigger it, I just need a moment.” She turned to look at Daphne and the beautiful witch smiled encouragingly back. “You heard right. I wasn’t very well. I’d got myself stuck in a bit of a rut and a few days ago I decided it was time to break out of it.”</p><p> </p><p>Pansy nodded, looking relieved, “well it looks like you chose a good pair of wizards to do that with.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!” Daphne agreed, “cover Theodore’s ears but oh my, you're a lucky girl!” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione smiled, grateful for their support. “Is it really, I mean, I’m muggle born, as you know, and three way relationships aren’t really known in that world, except as maybe a fetish thing. So a woman having a relationship with two men would be seen as extremely odd. Is it really so different in the Wizarding World?”</p><p> </p><p>Pansy nodded. “It used to be as common as the more regular kind of relationship, two partners, three partners even. None of the older families would think it the least bit unusual.”</p><p> </p><p>“I see.” Hermione nodded. </p><p> </p><p>“Theo and I have played around a little too, inviting other partners in at times, it's not something we’d want to do permanently, but it's not something either of us are opposed to either.” </p><p> </p><p>“I don't think I could do it now,” Pansy said thoughtfully, “I’m much too possessive over my man, I’d claw some bitches eyes out if she so much as looked at Neville in that way, but I've had threesomes in the past, before we got together and they're a lot of fun. But that’s what they are for me, just fun.”</p><p> </p><p>It was challenging to keep the surprise off her face, Hermione had clearly had a very sheltered initiation to the ways of wizarding relationships. “So it's not frowned upon at all then?” she asked and Daphne and Pansy both shook their heads. “Are you sure you’re comfortable talking about it, Pansy, given that you and Draco used to-” she looked at Pansy wondering how best to finish that statement, what exactly did they used to do? Go out, sleep together?</p><p> </p><p>“Of course! In fact,” Pansy crossed her legs as she leant forwards, "I'm perfectly placed to give you all the inside info on him. Daph can too. I can tell you about Potter as well, but then I guess you know about him already-”</p><p> </p><p>“Whaaaaaat?” Hermione exclaimed, louder than she had intended, “you’ve both slept with Draco? And you with Harry?”</p><p> </p><p>Pansy nodded, grinning. “I’ve had most of them at some point, Hermione. Then I reformed when I met Neville, and I've been faithful to him ever since."</p><p> </p><p>Daphne laughed at Hermione’s wide eyes. “Maybe the Gryffindors were a little more restrained at school than we were, Pans.”</p><p> </p><p>“That much is obvious,” Pansy giggled. “We need a girls night to discuss this in more detail. We can invite Tracy too, and anyone else you want, how does Friday grab you, Granger?”</p><p> </p><p>“Grab her for what?” Draco asked, appearing in the doorway with a yawn.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re stealing her for a girls gossip night,” Daphne said as Draco rolled his eyes. “No men allowed.” </p><p> </p><p>“It sounds perfect,” Hermione said, giggling while Draco mimed hanging himself. “I’d love to come.” </p><p> </p><p>“I'll get the hangover potion ready for Saturday morning then,” Draco said and Pansy laughed. “We’re going, Hermione, it’s a work night after all. Are you ready to come with us?” She nodded, feeling her cheeks heat yet again under his suggestive gaze. </p><p> </p><p>“Looks like you're in for a good night,” Daphne whispered as she hugged Hermione goodbye. “Have fun, and remember there's not a thing wrong with, or unusual about having two men at once. In the Wizarding World at least."</p><p> </p><p>Pansy smiled wickedly but said nothing more as she stepped away, and Hermione followed Harry through the floo back into Grimmauld Place.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Draco said, pausing as he looked Hermione up and down once more, “Granger, you really do look fantastic in those jeans. It would be a shame if I just left you two here to your own devices, but, the ball is in your court. What would you both like me to do now?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think I’ll let you two work that out,” Harry said.</p><p> </p><p>“Ummm, what are my options?” Hermione fidgeted nervously as Harry chuckled. He wandered to the sink and started filling some glasses with water to give them a moment of privacy. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, I could stay a bit longer, or I could go. Since you're already booked for Friday night, how does Saturday evening sound for our date?”</p><p> </p><p>“It sounds perfect.” She nodded as he stepped closer to her. “As for tonight, it’s up to you. What would you like to do?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he shook his head stubbornly. “This one’s your call. You're the woman in this relationship and I have the utmost respect for women. You are in charge, you make the decisions about how fast or slow we take things.” He stroked his fingers lightly down her cheek as he spoke and she shivered. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you always this responsive?” his thumb lingered on her bottom lip, pulling it open very slightly and instinctively her tongue brushed against it causing Draco to sigh. “Your so fucking tempting,” he closed his eyes for a moment as she flicked her tongue against his thumb once more, enjoying the responses he gave. “But, it’s very late and you’ve had a busy day.” He stepped back, then appeared to change his mind. “Can I kiss you goodnight? I’ve been wondering what you’d taste like all weekend.” </p><p> </p><p>Draco's eyes seemed to be boring into hers, they were like molten steel in the dim light and he smelled divine as he stepped closer to her again. She took a deep breath, his scent was different from Harry’s. Whereas Harry smelled comforting, of sanctuary, of home, and all things reassuring, Draco smelled quite the opposite. His scent was one of excitement, of forbidden promise, and sin. She nodded slowly. “Do you always ask first?”</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head. “Consider this the only time. You saw what I’m normally like when I kissed Harry on the steps of the White Wyvern.”</p><p> </p><p>She gasped, remembering it well. It was as if every moment of that encounter was seared indelibly into her brain. “That was-” she couldn’t think of a word to describe it but she could tell that Draco was affected by the memory as well. He raised an eyebrow at her half finished sentence. “I thought you were going to kiss me.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco chuckled, moving closer still as Harry ambled back from the sink and sat casually at the table. “Oh I plan to,” Draco said, smiling widely. “I was just trying to work you out first.”</p><p> </p><p>“How so?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I was just going to do it, then I saw your reaction to what I said, and it made me wonder. Do you like to be kissed gently and reverently? Do you like a man to worship you slowly, kissing you sweetly while he explores you all over? Or do you prefer to be grabbed roughly, and kissed hard and fast, like Harry does, ahhh, I see-” her eyes had fluttered closed and she had given a barely audible sigh “- you like to be grabbed and taken, you like to hand over control to a man who will respectfully dominate you until your screaming their name as you come undone all over their cock or their tongue…. Am I to take it that dirty talk does it for you as well, Granger?”</p><p> </p><p>She gasped, panting softly and unable to formulate coherent words. “Apparently so.”</p><p> </p><p>“Come here.” He closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her. She stared into his eyes as he smiled softly. “You're perfect, you know that? Both of you.” Before she had a chance to reply he pressed his lips to hers and her world seemed to shift. She’d kissed a few men in the past, not that many to be fair, but a few nonetheless, and none of them had ever kissed her like this. Not even Harry. </p><p> </p><p>Draco kissed as if it was an art form. He nudged his tongue at her lips and she yielded to him, melting against his strong chest as he fisted his hands in her hair, pulling her closer as he explored her mouth. </p><p> </p><p>Time seemed to stop as he surrounded her and invaded every single one of her senses. Her heart pounded as he swept his tongue across hers. He moved his hand to the small of her back, spreading his fingers so that he covered as much of her as possible. Her knees almost buckled as his hand slipped lower, caressing her bottom, squeezing gently and then releasing. When he finally pulled back they were both affected, breathing hard and staring at each other in wonder. </p><p> </p><p>Her core felt as if it were burning, scorched by the sudden intensity of their kiss. For a moment neither of them could speak. Draco simply brushed his lips over hers again then stepped back. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” He grinned and stepped towards the fireplace. “By the way, how was that?”</p><p> </p><p>It took three attempts for her to answer. “Perfect,” she said and his grin widened as he threw floo powder into the flames. </p><p> </p><p>“Night Potter.” He winked, turned and was swept away in a roar of emerald flames as Harry stared weakly at Hermione. </p><p> </p><p>“Ummm, that was quite a kiss, on both of your parts.” Harry's green eyes were alight and his grin was infectious as he watched her in the firelight. </p><p> </p><p>“I know!” she laughed. “Oh my Gods, I just kissed Draco Malfoy. My twelve year old self just died of shock!” she covered her face with her hands as she squealed.</p><p> </p><p>Harry laughed. “My twelve year old self had a similar heart attack when I first kissed him too, so I can assure you I know how that feels. The question is,” Harry stopped, his face sobering for a moment, "did you like it?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed and smiled. “I did. I really liked it. And I also really like kissing you. I like kissing both of you very much indeed.” Harry smiled as he gestured for her to sit beside him. She flopped down, curling into his side as he wrapped an arm around her.</p><p> </p><p>“I think I just need some time to get my head around it all. It's been a very strange day.” </p><p> </p><p>Harry smiled, ruffling her hair gently. “I know,” he said. “Lets go to bed shall we? then you can have all the time you need to work things out.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>“Constructive Reviews Welcome”<br/>The author of this story accepts reviews/comments of people who simply enjoy their work, of course. But they are also happy to read and consider a thoughtful review of the work, even if it includes constructive criticism.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! and firstly..... Happy New Year to everybody!! </p><p>I'd like to say a big than you to everyone who is reading these stories, and then an ever bigger thank you to those people who have taken the time to leave kudos and to comment on them, it's super encouraging to us all to keep writing! I hope you are all enjoying this one.</p><p>There is a little content warning needed on this chapter because there's a description of a PTSD attack in here. if you are sensitive to anything like that please read that part with caution, it's in the middle of the chapter and just skipping a couple of paragraphs won't take anything away from the rest of the story. It's in here because as well as being an adventure and romance story, this is a story about healing too, and as in real life, healing comes with the odd hiccup.</p><p>Thank you to my alpha/beta for all your help.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione’s next few days passed relatively quietly in comparison to her eventful weekend. As predicted, Ron had come flying out of the floo on Tuesday evening, having belatedly picked up the garbled voicemail that she had left during her panic attack. He had landed unceremoniously in the kitchen, full of genuine apologies and sincere promises to check his phone much more regularly.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione had finally managed to convince him that she really was okay and had just had a bad night, then they had settled down on the sofa with Harry, a bowl of popcorn and a film that happened to be on TV. Their long overdue catch up had felt wonderful. Ron was not as close to her and Harry these days as he once was, but that was another of the long list of things she planned to rectify.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione’s work days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday had been taken up with basic training in the Department of Mysteries. The chief Unspeakable, Gareth Greengrass had taken her through every room in the department, shown her briefly what happened in each, and introduced her to the Unspeakables working inside.</p><p> </p><p>He had then taken her back to his office to explain precisely what she was allowed to talk about outside of work and what was classified as secret information under the terms of her contract.</p><p> </p><p>She had learned department specific first aid and stasis spells, how the Unspeakable’s special links with the Aurors worked, and then had been introduced to her and Blaise’s linked Auror team. She hadn’t been the least bit surprised when this had turned out to be Harry and Draco. </p><p> </p><p>She barely saw Blaise during her training, although he did fulfill his promise of looking after her. Each day he brought her coffee in the morning, herbal tea in the afternoon, made sure she had eaten lunch and not worked straight through her break, and then saw her safely out of the department at the end of the day. Other than that, he disappeared, and much to her frustration, she <em> still </em> didn’t know what she was to be working on with him. So, when he told her as she left on Thursday that her training was complete and that she would be working with him all the next all day, she could barely contain her excitement. </p><p> </p><p>Consequently, on Thursday evening, she was a highly strung ball of energy. Too restless to sit still she paced the upper floors and the lesser used rooms of Grimmauld, looking for something to do to pass the time.</p><p> </p><p>The spare bedrooms on the fourth floor of the house were in a terrible mess. Hermione stopped in the doorway of what had once been a teenage Sirius’ bedroom and sighed. She and Harry split most of the household chores between themselves and the lower floors of the house were kept relatively clean and tidy, but they both had a habit of throwing anything that they didn’t know what to do with up here.</p><p> </p><p>The result of several years of this was that this room, the one next door that had once belonged to Regulus, and the bathroom that separated them both now looked like a smaller version of the Room of Hidden Things at Hogwarts.</p><p> </p><p>She sighed again, wondering where to start. Harry was out at Quidditch training with Draco and she refused to spend the evening fretting about tomorrow. Purposely though, they never touched this room. The wallpaper was peeling and the old posters were faded and yellowed, but despite all of that, this room was all that Harry had left of Sirius. Messy it may be, but it was the only link Harry had to the family that had been so cruelly torn from him by Bellatrix under Voldemort’s orders. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” she said out loud, “I’m not going to touch the decor. I’m just going to tidy up a little. Is that all right?” She didn’t know if she was asking for Harry’s permission, Sirius’ permission, or even her own permission, but somehow it seemed important to ask. When there was no reply, she stepped over the front row of debris and jumped as the door swung shut behind her. She breathed out slowly, forcing herself to remember that most of the doors in this house did that. Not every bang or unexpected movement was caused by a Death Eater. </p><p> </p><p>Stepping gingerly over piles of more junk Hermione reached the middle of the room and frowned. There was an area beside the bed that looked strangely different from the rest of the room and she stepped closer to investigate. It looked like a nest, similar to the ones that Kreacher used to make. Blankets and pillows were pushed up against the bed and there was a smooth, clear area on the floor that looked as if someone sat there regularly.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione glanced behind her in confusion, suddenly feeling like an intruder and wondering whether she should just forget the whole idea and leave the room alone when she felt a tingle of magic pulling her towards the spot. </p><p> </p><p>It was familiar magic, she recognized its feel. Harry. She stepped into the little clearing and sat down to look around. There were a couple of dirty cups and several newish looking snack wrappers close by. It seemed that this was a spot Harry used reasonably often.</p><p> </p><p>She sank back into the soft bedding and inhaled his subtle scent. As she looked around a notebook caught her eye. It was partially hidden under the bed and appeared to have been shoved there hastily. She glanced around again, suddenly feeling that she was being watched. It was a feeling that she was so used to in Grimmauld that she ignored it fairly easily as she used a finger to pull the notebook out and open it.</p><p> </p><p>What she saw made her gasp with shock. </p><p> </p><p>She had just found Harry’s diary.</p><p> </p><p>She froze and dropped it as if the pages themselves would bite her. This was clearly where he sat to write and she knew she should put the diary back exactly as she had found it, retreat out of the room and close the door behind her, then maybe start on Regulus' old room instead. And that is exactly what she would have done had she not taken one more glance at the book and seen that both of the open pages started with the same words. <em> Dear Hermione</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Her heart was pounding madly as she cast a quick Tempus charm. It was only 9 pm, Harry wouldn't be back for at least another hour. She stared at the book mentally arguing with herself and finally flipped it open again. </p><p> </p><p>Harry had written a lot. His untidy scrawl covered page after page and Hermione couldn’t help but smile fondly. Harry Potter, the boy who had always hated to write at school, didn’t seem to have the same problem here.</p><p> </p><p>The writing appeared to change with his mood, sometimes the letters were small and fairly neat, other times they were huge, angry looking and deeply indented on the page. But, aside from the changing font style there was something else that was strange, Harry’s writing was always messy, but she could at least read it most of the time. She stared at the pages but couldn’t focus on any of these words. She narrowed her eyes, squinting at the jumble but nothing would stop the letters from shimmering and moving around. She closed one eye and squinted, holding the page closer, then further away from her face but nothing helped. The more she tried to see it the worse it got.</p><p> </p><p>Clearly, Harry had charmed the diary to be unreadable.  </p><p> </p><p>But that didn’t make sense. She had just read the first line of each page and seen her name. No charms had been on it when she had first picked it up and concealment charms didn’t come and go. Just what was going on?</p><p> </p><p>She reached for her wand and was about to cast an unscrambling charm before she realized what she was doing. She stopped with a horrified gasp. No amount of curiosity or getting sucked into a battle of wills against a spell was worth invading Harry’s privacy in such a way. She slammed the book down, stood up, and bolted from the room, feeling disgusted with herself for what she had been about to do.  </p><p> </p><p>She was still upset when Harry came home. After one measure of Firewhisky to soothe her frazzled nerves, she had managed to leave the alcohol alone, instead choosing to have a shower and put her agitation to use cleaning up the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>She jumped as the front door opened and Harry let himself in, stomping his feet on the mat then stopping to greet her with a kiss. “Harry?” she said hesitantly as he kicked his muddy boots and garters off, “I need to tell you something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” he turned towards her, his concern magnifying when he saw her stricken face. “What’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“Harry I did something terrible, and I need to tell you about it, I’m so sorry, I stopped myself before I, I mean I didn’t really see anything-”</p><p> </p><p>Harry stared at her in surprise as she dropped her face into her hands in distress. “Okay,” he said slowly, “nothing’s this bad ‘Mione.” He gently but firmly prised her hands away from her eyes. “What’s happened?”</p><p> </p><p>“I,” she shook her head and closed her eyes, somehow actually telling him what she had done was far worse than the thought of doing so had been. “Oh Harry I’m so sorry, I found your diary in Sirius’ room, and I picked it up, and I was going to read it! I didn’t though, obviously, because of the charm but there was a point when I... I nearly broke the charm because I was curious, and well, because it was a weird charm, and then I realized what I was doing so I didn’t and, oh Gods I’m so sorry!”</p><p> </p><p>When she had talked herself out she stared at him wishing he would say something instead of looking blankly at her. “Harry, I’m really sorry!” Her eyes were brimming with tears as she looked at him, silently begging for his forgiveness. </p><p> </p><p>“Is this what you're so upset about?” he asked, looking utterly baffled as he held her close again. “All this is because you found my notebook in Sirius’ room, but you didn’t read it?” She nodded again. “You didn’t read it at all?”</p><p> </p><p>“No!” she squealed, “I realized what I was doing when the charm blocked me-”</p><p> </p><p>“What charm? There’s no charm on it, It's just a therapy diary that I’ve written over the last couple of years half hoping you’d find it. I wasn't brave enough to leave it lying around or to just ask you to read it, so I hoped you’d get curious about where I went sometimes, or annoyed about the state of the room and go in to tidy up and find it. You were meant to read it!” he added when she still didn’t seem convinced. </p><p> </p><p>“But I couldn’t.” She sniffed and looked at him, her curiosity returning now she knew he wasn’t upset about her indiscretion. </p><p> </p><p>“Why not?” He looked genuinely confused.</p><p> </p><p>“Because the letters jumped all over the page. That’s why I thought it was charmed!”</p><p> </p><p>“Have you been on the Firewhisky again?” he said in such a way that despite everything she laughed. </p><p> </p><p>“No. Come and look.” She stood up, grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him into the hall, up the multiple flights of stairs and along to Sirius’ room, confusion and intrigue making her hurry.</p><p> </p><p>This time the atmosphere in the room felt different. The door swung open and stayed that way. Harry hopped nimbly across the junk and picked up the notepad. He held it out to her and she looked. There it was, page after page of Harry’s writing, and each one was fully readable. </p><p> </p><p>“You see, no charm on it at all. As I said, I was half hoping you’d find it. It was hardly hidden.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” She let out a long slow breath and began to wonder if she was losing her mind. “What do you want me to do now that I know about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Harry said at length, “I think I’d quite like you to finally read it.” </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>She didn’t read anything that night. She was so tired and unsettled after her emotional evening that she accepted Harry’s offer of an early night, and once he had showered and put his sodden quidditch kit through the wash she had fallen into his arms and both of them had drifted quickly off to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>She was grateful for that restraint when she stood in her and Blaise’s tastefully lit office at exactly 8 am the next day.</p><p> </p><p>Blaise fixed her with a disarming grin, told her she looked hot in her new skirt and laughed at the blush that bloomed across her cheeks in reply, before indicating that she should sit in the chair opposite his desk. She sank into the smooth leather as he levitated a cup of her favorite takeaway coffee and a croissant over to her and then sat back, sipping elegantly from his own. “Are you ready to find out what we’re doing then?” he asked and she leaned forwards eagerly, trying not to combust with excitement.</p><p> </p><p>When he had finished explaining she blinked a few times and stared at him as if she had just watched him grow another head. “You-” she tried to speak, but words completely failed her. Blaise smirked at her incredulous expression, “You mean-” she tried again, but still couldn’t form a sentence, “are you?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise stood up as she gazed at him in shock. “I chose you for this investigation Hermione, and I’ve held out for you as a partner for the better part of two years for a very good reason. Maybe it would be better if I showed you what I’m, sorry, what <em> we </em> are, trying to do. Follow me.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione stood up, smoothed down her skirt, and followed him out of the office, down the corridor, back into the main department hall, and with some trepidation, through the door of the Death Room. </p><p> </p><p>“You see?” he tapped his finger on the metal name plaque as the door opened smoothly, “they don’t understand this arch, not even down here. If I’m right about this, then the veil has nothing to do with death at all.”</p><p> </p><p>The door closed behind them and Hermione shivered, partly because the room was freezing and partly because of the memories it was bringing back. Blaise stepped forwards, walking towards the stone steps that led down to the archway and Hermione instinctively grabbed his arm to hold him back. “Are you alright?” he turned, looking at her in concern.</p><p> </p><p>She stopped abruptly as a tidal wave of emotions crashed into her. “You’ve gone very pale,” Blaise said uncertainly, “Hermione? Sit down for a moment, you look like you're going to faint!” </p><p> </p><p>He tried to lead her to sit on the top step but she jumped back, still holding his arm, and inadvertently yanked him back with her. “No!”</p><p> </p><p>Her reaction was physical, the sight of the veil fluttering delicately in the perfectly still room had caused the awful memories of Sirius’ slow-motion fall into nothingness to come flooding back. Adrenaline coursed through her body as her heart raced and her breathing became shallow and rapid. </p><p> </p><p>The world seemed to slip into slow motion, and rationally she knew that she wasn’t suddenly back in 1996, but her body reacted as though she was. It felt as if she was right back in the midst of the battle, with deadly spells raining down everywhere. She could see the flashes of the curses, hear the cries of the injured, and smell the acrid smoke of the vicious spellfire. She could hear Bellatrix’s maniacal laugh and Harry’s agonized screams as Sirius fell to his death and it all became too much to bear. She dropped into a crouch and covered her head protectively with her arms. </p><p> </p><p>She was vaguely aware of Blaise beside her, trying to talk her out of it but her overwhelmed brain couldn't register him as anything more than a danger and she lashed out defensively as he touched her arm. She was too far gone to register his words, and nothing he could say right now would ease this. It was by far the worst PTSD attack she had ever had. </p><p> </p><p>Sometime later, whether it was minutes or hours she wasn't sure, Harry came flying into the room and skidded to a halt beside her, his out of breath voice cutting straight through her hysterics. “‘Mione, it’s all right. Come on now. It’s me, you’re safe.”</p><p> </p><p>He sank to the floor beside her, talking softly until she managed to latch onto the familiar sound of his voice and started to calm somewhat. “‘Mione, you're safe. We’re not in the battle anymore. I’m going to touch your back now. That’s me, okay? My hand. Breathe in my scent. Hopefully, it’s not too awful, I did shower this morning,” he joked lightly. “Slow your breathing to match mine. Listen to the sounds around you. Let’s do your checklist.”</p><p> </p><p>This time he started with sound, then ran through touch, smell, taste, and finally, when she was ready to open her eyes, sight. Relieved and somewhat exhausted, she sighed and sagged against Harry gratefully. She was finally back in the present and the past had retreated harmlessly back, once more locked safely within a memory. “It was a panic attack,” Harry was saying, “a bad one, but a panic attack all the same. Look, it’s just me and Blaise here.”</p><p> </p><p>She lifted her head and saw, finally, that he was right. The room was empty. The veil still fluttered menacingly but nothing untoward was happening. She blinked slowly as Harry released his hold on her and that was the point that her embarrassment kicked in instead. “Oh, Gods! SORRY!” She yelped as she stood up, smoothing her clothes and feeling her puffy eyes and smudged makeup with her fingers as she gazed wide-eyed and horrified at Blaise, “I’m so sorry!”</p><p> </p><p>“Not a problem.” He looked a little concerned but said nothing more. </p><p> </p><p>“Where did you come from Harry?” she asked, blinking at him in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>“Blaise called me down to help you. Nice Patronus by the way, I’ve not seen that before. Was it a cheetah?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise shook his head, “nearly, it’s actually a puma. I’ve never been brilliant at casting them, I normally use flying memos for messages, but it seems that when things are urgent I can cast a fully corporeal version now.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded. Of course, Blaise had called Harry because she had completely freaked out and- “Stop it now,” Harry chided, “None of that overthinking. No one thinks badly of you, it was just a panic attack that’s all, ‘Mione. Now if you're okay, I’m on the trail of some petty criminal that’s boring Draco to tears. He’s threatened to torch the whole D.M.L.E. to liven things up if I take too long down here.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise laughed. “We’re fine. Go and sort Malfoy out. It wouldn’t be the first time that boredom’s got the better of him!” </p><p> </p><p>Harry chuckled as he left and Hermione turned back to Blaise, “I am, really, really sorry!”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s no problem, honestly, It’s on your medical notes that you have PTSD. To be honest, I'm not the least bit surprised after what you’ve been through. I just need to learn how to better help you with it that’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>Gratefully, Hermione nodded and settled herself more comfortably on the steps as she slowly regained her composure and the last vestiges of her dysregulation faded. She took the cup of water Blaise had conjured for her and sipped it, feeling the ice-cold liquid ground her further still. </p><p> </p><p>“Alright?” he asked with an easy smile, and she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes thank you. I’m not going to go any closer to the veil just yet though. And I’d be grateful if you would stay away from it too. But, I’m all right to carry on now. Please will you talk me through the whole thing?” </p><p> </p><p>Blaise nodded and settled down to sit beside her, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “Everyone thinks, as you do, that this veil is the gateway to death. You walk up to it alive, you pass through it, and you die. But, the facts and the evidence to support that just don’t stand up. Firstly, where does your body go? Everyone who dies in a regular way leaves their body behind, but here, your body passes through the veil and then disappears. Secondly, some people, not myself unfortunately, can hear whispers through the veil. They’re not spirit voices, because if they were then they would register on one of our spectrometers. It’s not ghosts either, all ghosts, spirits, poltergeists, etc. have a precise frequency. This is a normal, living, human being frequency.”</p><p> </p><p>“I believe you don’t die if you fall through this veil. I believe that it takes you somewhere else, to a different realm maybe, or a different plane of existence. I believe the veil is a vortex. And I believe that if you've gone through it one way, you should be able to come back again.”</p><p> </p><p>For a long time Hermione just stared blankly at Blaise with her brain spinning wildly. Thoughts and ideas that she had previously believed to be impossible were suddenly springing into existence. “You’re serious about this aren’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course. And there’s one more thing, but for this, I need to approach the arch. I can assure you I’ve done this many times and nothing bad has happened to me yet. Are you okay with me doing that?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded nervously, watching with a strange kind of detachment as he descended the stone steps to approach the dais. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting to happen, but nothing was out of the ordinary right now, even as Blaise screwed up two pieces of parchment and threw one through the arch from the front and the other through from the opposite direction.</p><p> </p><p>The first piece of parchment disappeared and the curtain fluttered menacingly behind it. The other piece merely bounced off of the fluttering curtain and landed on the floor. Blaise picked it up and handed it to her as he sat back down. “Now that was parchment, and obviously parchment cannot die. If this isn’t a wormhole or a vortex why does throwing something through the arch one way cause it to disappear? Where does it go? We’ve established that it cannot die, so why doesn't it just pass through the curtain and appear on the ground on the other side? Or just rebound off of the curtain as this piece did?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded kindly, “Hermione, I know this is a lot to take in, but I’ve been researching the veil for the best part of two years and what I’ve found out so far has all stood up to scientific and magical scrutiny. I’ve more or less proved my theory. This veil is, in my opinion, a portal to another realm. And, if we can reverse the wormhole effect then someone who fell through it relatively recently, should be able to come back.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you mean Sirius Black?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded slowly. “That’s exactly who I mean. Tell me Hermione, how close were you to Black?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” tears sprang to her eyes as she considered the possibility that Sirius could possibly be brought back to life. “Fairly close. I mean he was Harry’s Godfather, we helped him escape from  Hogwarts in our third year, we lived with him for a bit, he left his house in London to Harry after he died and that’s where we both live now, so yes, we were pretty close.”</p><p> </p><p>“And have you ever felt anything strange, like a presence in that house? Or in other places that were important to him? Gryffindor Tower maybe, or around that flying motorbike he had, or anywhere else?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione stared blankly at Blaise, shocked to the very core. “Well, yes!” she said, “as a matter of fact I do. But Grimmauld Place is sure to have its fair share of ghosts considering its history. Harry feels it at Grimmauld too, not as strongly as I do, but he feels a presence. And that’s the reason Remus won’t come near the house either, he finds it too upsetting.” </p><p> </p><p>“Remus Lupin?” Blaise’s smile was slow and satisfied as Hermione nodded. “So the rumors about those two were true then? They were more than just friends?” </p><p> </p><p>“Of course they were.” Hermione rolled her eyes, still not understanding why the two men had been so stubbornly opposed to admitting their feelings for each other. “Remus may have been married to Tonks and had a child with her, but he never stopped loving Sirius. And Sirius always loved him in return, although neither of them would admit to it if asked.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise looked confused for a moment, “so why weren’t they just together? Oh look never mind, that’s not important right now. “This is what I want us to do. I want to investigate the presence in the house, with your help. I want to find the place where it’s strongest. I want to run tests and find the right spells. And then if we can get the conditions right, I want you to help me to pull Sirius back through the veil.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione just gaped at him for a full minute. “This is why you held out for me isn’t it?” Blaise nodded, “because I was close to him.” She didn’t know how to feel right now, her head was spinning and her emotions were all over the place. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Blaise said simply. “That is exactly why I wanted you for this. That coupled with your curiosity and your intelligence. And just to be upfront about everything, full disclosure here, Draco now knows about my research as well. He and I are going to tell Harry about it tonight. Some of the places I want to go to may be risky and we’ll need Auror support. Also, if I’m right about this, we’ll need a ritual to bring Sirius back through. It will be dangerous and it may cross the line into dark magic. It will certainly involve blood magic and a level of sacrifice on Draco’s part. He understands this and he’s happy to participate. I understand your feelings about dark magic which is why I want you to take the rest of today off to think this through. At the moment you can still walk away. I can obliviate certain details of this from your memory and you can work on something else, I have a couple of side projects you can take over. But if you choose to stay and participate fully in this project you are signing up to the official D.O.M. vow of secrecy, and you can’t leave the project until it’s either resolved, or you agree to all aspects of it being obliviated from your mind. This is where things get serious down here. If you sign up to this you’re as committed as I am.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded slowly, picking at the nail she had been examining while Blaise had been talking. “What do you mean about a sacrifice on Draco’s part?”</p><p> </p><p>“Draco is the only person we can ask who has direct Black family blood in his veins. We think we'll need that link to bring Sirius back through.”</p><p> </p><p>“And Draco’s okay with that? I thought he was trying to get away from all that sort of thing?” she sighed as her only long nail pinged off, so much for trying to be glamorous. She gave up fussing with her fingers and fidgeted with her hair instead. Both Draco and dark magic were rather uncertain subjects for her at the moment, and the thought of putting them together wasn’t exactly reassuring.</p><p> </p><p>Blaise smirked, missing her apprehension completely. “You’ll never get Draco to fully renounce the dark arts I'm afraid. He has more than a passing interest in them. If you commit to this then you can discuss it with him, but yeah, he knows what it means and he’s happy to contribute. So, I need you to think things through now. I’ll need your answer by hometime today though. Are you on board with me here Hermione?”</p><p> </p><p>The answer came before she had a chance to catch up with her thoughts. As overwhelming and unexpected as this morning had been, her answer was easy to give. “I don’t need to think about it,” she said, almost laughing as she shook her head. “The answer is simply yes! There’s no question here. I want in!” </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hermione left the Department of Mysteries with Blaise at lunchtime and smiled when she saw Draco leaning against the wall by the department's outer doors. He was fiddling with and looking completely baffled by his new mobile phone while he waited for her. “Hey,” he pocketed the phone and smiled as she paused beside him. “You alright?”</p><p> </p><p>Slowly she nodded. “I think so, there’s been rather a lot to take in this morning.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can imagine. Can she speak to me freely about it all, Zabini?” </p><p> </p><p>“Totally. You’re as much in and signed up for this project as we are.” Blaise confirmed as he pulled his coat on. </p><p> </p><p>“You agreed to work on it then?” Draco asked, and Hermione nodded. “How do you feel about it all?” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed, resigned to the fact that they both seemed to be following her out of the Ministry and therefore she wasn’t going to get a moment to herself all day. Blaise pressed the button to call the lift and stood back, watching her closely.</p><p> </p><p>“I feel very conflicted,” she answered honestly. “It’s brought back all of the horrible memories I have of the night of Sirius’s death, or maybe it’s not his death now, let’s call it his disappearance. I’m excited to research it all and to see if we can bring him back. But I’m also really, really conscious of Harry’s involvement in all of this. You need to tell him tonight, you two. I’m worried about how he’ll react. He’ll be upset when you tell him, you know? He’s notoriously unpredictable when it comes to Sirius or his parents. I’m worried that he’ll hate me for knowing about this before he does….” She finally paused to take a breath and saw Draco and Blaise exchange amused looks. </p><p> </p><p>“Does she always worry this much?” Blaise asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t know for sure,” Draco grinned, “but I’d guess she does. I promise we’ll tell Harry tonight and I’m sure we can cope with him if he’s upset. And believe me, I’ll make sure that none of it reflects badly on you. Blaise here can take the full blame for everything.”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright,” she conceded as Blaise raised an amused eyebrow at Draco and Draco grinned. She chewed on her newly bitten nails again and nodded, semi reassured at least. </p><p> </p><p>“Now what?” Draco moved a step closer to her in the lift. It felt like a protective gesture and she shivered, instinctively appreciating it, “you’re still looking concerned.” </p><p> </p><p>“Well,” she said slowly, wondering why the lift was taking so long to arrive, “it’s the dark magic that’s apparently going to be involved that’s bothering me. Do you really not mind about that, Draco? Or,” she opened her eyes wide in horror, “did you not truly give all of that up? If I’m involved with this project then I need to know where we’re all coming from. I guess I didn’t feel like I needed to ask before, but I need a straight and honest answer now.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think I’ll leave you to talk your way out of this one on your own, mate,” Blaise smirked as the lift finally arrived in the atrium and he strolled out, glancing back in amusement at Draco’s rather flustered look. “Best of luck.”</p><p> </p><p>“Arse,” Draco muttered. “Come on then, lunch? My treat?” She nodded distractedly as images of Draco and his distinctly dark past spun unchecked through her mind. They stepped out through the main doors of the Ministry into the spring sunshine and walked companionably, if rather quietly under the blossoming cherry trees and into the nearest bakery to buy something to eat. </p><p> </p><p>When they reached the park they strolled along until they found a bench and sat down. Draco set a badge on her lap and she picked it up curiously. It was similar to her D.O.M. identity card. “I’ve been linked to the Department of Mysteries for a year now,” he said, opening the paper bag and biting into his sandwich as he watched her read the badge. “If there’s something they’re investigating that’s either intrinsically dark or involves the dark arts, they call me down. Potter’s got one of these too. To my knowledge, we are the only Auror duo that has them. We’ve been linked to several D.O.M. investigations that have a dark edge, but we obviously can’t speak about them too much, which is why you don’t know about them.”</p><p> </p><p>He shrugged in his signature nonchalant way, as he looked over towards the park at the young mothers pushing prams and the children playing on the swings. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’m still interested in the dark arts and I always have been. This badge gives me license to explore that interest legally, safely, and hopefully in a way that’s helpful to the world around me.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed and passed the badge back to him, finally pulling her sandwich out of her bag and starting to eat. She nodded as she chewed, trying to stay grounded and not feel too overwhelmed again. There had been an awful lot to take in already today and now Draco had just handed her this on top of everything else. It wasn’t particularly surprising information on his part, but she was utterly gobsmacked to find out that Harry was involved in it too. </p><p> </p><p>She was still too surprised to object when Draco told her that Blaise had authorized him to give her the afternoon off to think everything through, and she was even less inclined to argue when he simply scooped the rest of their lunches together and apparated them both back to Grimmauld Place.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi…! I hope everyone is well and coping okay with all the restrictions we have in place at the moment….. if you’re a bit bored, well, here’s another chapter for you to read and hopefully brighten your day a little. </p><p>Thank you all so much for the response to the last chapter, the kudos, reviews and comments have really made us smile proudly and bounce around like excited loonies in equal measures! </p><p>Thank you very much to my alpha/beta for all your help. </p><p>Without further ado…. Stay safe and enjoy!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They landed back in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Draco set their muddled lunches down on the table, turned to the sink, filled the kettle, and used his wand to set it to heat. “I know you’ve had rather a lot to take in this morning,” he said as he picked up his half-eaten sandwich, “so I’ll give you the choice. Would you prefer me to leave you alone to think things through for a bit, or would you rather I stayed here with you?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione considered his words for a moment. “I think I’d like you to stay. That is if you’re not going to get into trouble at work by doing so?” </p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure that under the circumstances, Potter can manage without me for a while.” She nodded as she chewed thoughtfully. “He told me that you found his diary, by the way.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione looked at him curiously. “Have you read it?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Some of it, yes. Although Harry also said that if we’re going to try this proper relationship thing, he wants me to read it all. He thinks it will help me to understand him better.” Draco set cups on the side as the kettle whistled and steam started to fill the kitchen, “I just don’t know why you thought it was charmed when it wasn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Neither do I,” she admitted with a sigh. “I’m starting to worry that I was having a hallucination or something!” </p><p> </p><p>“I doubt that," Draco said softly. "Have you thought that there might have been something else going on? You were in Sirius Black’s old room, were you not?” She nodded, her stomach dropping another notch as she considered all that she and Blaise had discussed earlier that morning. Could it really have been Sirius’ protective presence blocking her from reading Harry’s words? “You know,” Draco continued thoughtfully, “I’d have just broken the charm, read the diary, and then replaced the charm? Assuming there was a charm there, of course.”</p><p> </p><p>“But that would be wrong! You can’t just invade someone’s privacy like that!” Hermione looked scandalized as Draco laughed. </p><p> </p><p>“Slytherin, darling, get used to it.” He poured water from the kettle onto the tea bags, added milk, and set a cup in front of her as she glared at him reproachfully. </p><p> </p><p>“Gryffindor,” she said, scowling fiercely. “And we have a code of honor.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, believe me, so do we. I pride myself on it, in fact.”</p><p> </p><p>The look in his eyes made her falter and stare at him, her cheeks flushing as she finished chewing. “Are we still talking about diaries here?”</p><p> </p><p>“We can talk about anything you like, Hermione,” he accentuated her name as he spoke, and she squirmed in her chair, suddenly feeling flustered. “I like the feel of your given name on my tongue.” He lifted a brow as he sipped his tea, his eyes never leaving hers as he gauged her reaction. </p><p> </p><p>She swallowed heavily and picked up her cup. “Do you now?”</p><p> </p><p>Her attempt to ignore his obvious flirtation just made him smile. “I bet that's not all that would feel good on my tongue, is it?” He smiled as he deliberately upped the game.</p><p> </p><p>She put her cup down and looked at him again, this time feeling in grave danger of drowning in his stormy eyes. Despite her irritation with his lack of morals, all she could think about was the kiss they had shared the previous weekend. “Are you alright there, or are you still overwhelmed after your interesting morning?”</p><p> </p><p>Slowly she nodded, feeling her cheeks heat again and a shiver run down her spine. “I seem to have temporarily forgotten about my morning right now,” she admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, really?” Draco reached across the table and took her hand in his own, “Want me to see if I can take your mind off of it a little more?”</p><p> </p><p>His proposal was tempting, oh so tempting, and if this had been Harry offering she would have accepted without a second thought. She was still slightly unsure of Draco though, and maybe, she reasoned, as her still anxious brain finally caught up with her hormones, perhaps she should be much more wary of him than she currently was, given their history.</p><p> </p><p>She stared at him, indecision and emotional overwhelm clouding her judgement and causing her brain to blank. She was clearly in no fit state to make this decision right now. </p><p> </p><p>She shook her head defiantly. “Tonight,” she stated. “Probably. Once I’ve cleared my head and thought things through. And also depending on how Harry feels after you and Blaise tell him about the arch. I promise I’ll be clearer tonight. I’ve just had a mad week, and I’m supposed to be going out later and well, I have to go out to give you and Blaise space to tell Harry, and I am sorry about right now, but… wait! Why are you looking at me like that?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco just grinned. “Because you're adorable when you're flustered. Tonight then Hermione. If you want to, that is.” He stood up and fixed her with his best and most devastating smile. “I’ll be looking forward to it.” </p><p> </p><p>She swallowed hard as he stalked around the table to where she stood awkwardly, and reached down to brush his lips over hers. “Want me to take you to Pansy’s tonight? I need to pick Blaise up anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, touched by his thoughtfulness. “Yes, please, I’d like that a lot.” His answering smile was slow and easy. “8 pm then, and in the meantime,” he kissed her lips gently again, “stop driving yourself crazy. You put far too much pressure on yourself.” She nodded as he stepped back, blew her another kiss, and then apparated away. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>That afternoon Hermione had taken a long, hot bath and then settled down in bed intending to read but had soon fallen asleep instead. She had slept all afternoon, and Harry had finally woken her up in time for something to eat and to get ready.</p><p> </p><p>Draco had collected her at eight as promised, and it was with some trepidation that she had watched him leave back through the floo to Grimmauld with Blaise following behind. Their promises to stay in the house and to look after Harry were still ringing in her ears as Neville enveloped her in a bear hug. “Blaise said you were feeling a bit off color earlier, how are you now?” He asked as she hugged him tightly in return.</p><p> </p><p>“Much better, thank you,” she admitted truthfully. </p><p> </p><p>Neville pulled back and looked at her appraisingly. “Good. I’m off to the pub with Theo, Dean, Seamus, and Ron, so if you need any of us, we’ll be in the Wyvern. Have fun, ladies!”</p><p> </p><p>“Mitts off my man Granger,” Pansy said with a giggle as she pulled Neville in for a surprisingly passionate goodbye kiss. “Off you go then handsome, shoo, shoo, we have girl stuff to discuss!”</p><p> </p><p>“Heaven forbid!” Theo pretended to faint as Daphne urged him towards the floo as well. “Best of luck to you all!” </p><p> </p><p>“Have fun, boys.” Pansy grinned as they both vanished in a flash of green flames. She turned with a smile to Hermione, Daphne, and Tracy Davis, who was also perched on the sofa. “Wine or cocktails then girls?”</p><p> </p><p>Daphne looked at her as if she was mad, “is that even a choice? Cocktails, of course! What have you got?” </p><p> </p><p>Three hours and three different recipes later, Hemione was feeling rather tipsy. Tipsy enough to confess her quandary regarding Draco to the other three. “So let me get this straight,” Pansy stared at her in a rather cross-eyed way, “You <em> still </em>don’t know whether to shag him or not, and this latest quandary is all because he would have read Harry's diary without permission.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded. “Well, yes. No, it’s not just that. It’s not just about the sex. It’s the whole relationship thing that I’m a bit unsure of with him.” She gestured in a rather wild arc with her arm as she spoke and Daphne giggled.</p><p> </p><p>“Who here would have read the diary?” Pansy asked, laughing as she stuck her hand in the air. </p><p> </p><p>“Maybe,” Daphne conceded. “But you are sitting in a room full of Slytherins, so it may not be a totally fair judgment call.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think I would have done,” Tracy said thoughtfully. “But not knowing what was in it would have driven me bananas, especially if it was just sitting there, almost asking to be read…. I wouldn’t have broken a charm, though, because if it was charmed then the writer wanted it kept private. If it was findable and readable then that’s fair game. Isn’t it?” She paused to sip her drink and stare thoughtfully at Hermione. “I don’t think that a difference of opinion like that would put me off a potential boyfriend, though. We’re all different after all,” she said finally as Pansy and Daphne burst out laughing.</p><p> </p><p>“I think you just illustrated my point about our house beautifully there, darling,” Daphne said.</p><p> </p><p>The sound of the floo cut off Hermione’s reply, and Neville, Theo, and Blaise stepped back into the lounge, wincing at the mess the four girls had made over the course of the evening. “It’s at times like these that I ask myself what Neville would do.” Pansy grinned dreamily at her boyfriend as Hermione widened her eyes at Blaise in alarm. </p><p> </p><p>“Harry’s fine. He’s with Draco,” Blaise whispered. “I left them at Grimmauld when I’d done my bit, and they needed some privacy. I’ve only been at the pub for an hour or so."</p><p> </p><p>“What would I do about what, darling?” Neville asked, happily accepting Pansy’s hug. </p><p> </p><p>“If you found my diary, would you read it behind my back?”</p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely not,” Neville said, and Hermione nodded in satisfaction. </p><p> </p><p>“Really?” Pansy laughed. “I’d read yours.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know you would,” Neville said simply as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her solidly in return. </p><p> </p><p>“Doesn’t that bother you, though?” Hermione had had too much to drink to stop herself from asking the rather rude question. </p><p> </p><p>Neville shook his head. “Of course not. We’re in a committed relationship, aren’t we? I’m fully aware of her personality traits, and I don’t feel the need to hide anything from Pansy. We share everything. If I’m unhappy, I tell her rather than writing it down or keeping it to myself. It’s that simple.”</p><p> </p><p>“To be fair, I agree,” Theo said as he sank down beside Daphne. “Relationships are about openness and honesty. Why write something down and hide it away from your partner when you could share it with them?”</p><p> </p><p>Those words were still resonating loudly with Hermione as she got ready to leave. Blaise assured her that Harry and Draco were both fine, if a little drunk, before abandoning her to turn the full extent of his considerable charm onto Tracy.</p><p> </p><p>Pansy rolled her eyes as she saw Hermione towards the floo. “Ten galleons on her spending the night in his bed. Again.” Pansy whispered, as Hermione glanced at the sofa.</p><p> </p><p>“I'd say that's a dead cert,” she giggled. Barely ten minutes had passed, and Tracy was already sitting half in Blaise's lap. </p><p> </p><p>“Oi! Zabini, remember your modeling for me tomorrow morning!” Pansy called as he waved her worries away and resumed kissing Tracy. “Are you okay getting home, lovely girl?” </p><p> </p><p>“Yes. Thank you for tonight Pansy, it’s been so much fun.” Hermione hugged her goodbye, threw a handful of glittering grey powder into the flames, and stepped inside. She called out “12 Grimmauld Place”, still mulling over Theo’s words while feeling sad that Harry hadn’t felt able to come to her with his problems directly, and wondering what on earth she was going to find at the other end of the floo. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The answer to that was a rather drunken Harry and Draco. “‘Mione!” Harry called as she waited for the kitchen to stop spinning before she moved forwards. “Hi! I missed you tonight. Did you know you’re going to try to bring Sirius back?”</p><p> </p><p>Worriedly she nodded. “I do now. I found out this morning.”</p><p> </p><p>“That's good.” Harry stared at her through slightly unfocused eyes. “I’d like to think he can come back.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione eyed Draco as she nodded in agreement. “Blaise and I have explained everything we know so far and everything we want to try to do. We’ve said that this is all experimental and theoretical at the moment and that it might not work in practice.” He offered her a sip from his glass of firewhisky, but she shook her head. He shrugged and downed the contents himself, then poured another.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s alright, ‘Mione.” Harry crossed the kitchen slightly unsteadily, “I’m fine about it. I was shocked at first but what they said makes perfect sense. I’m just a bit... drunk right now.”</p><p> </p><p>She bit back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue. Harry may have promised not to do this again but tonight was hardly the night to voice that sentiment, and in any case, she was hardly sober herself. She hugged Harry hard instead and reached up to push his hair out of his eyes, checking for any clues that he wasn’t being entirely truthful. Happily, Harry remained as easy to read as always, and she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“I need to go to bed,” he admitted. Hermione  took his hand and gestured for Draco to follow. Harry stumbled and laughed as he righted himself then followed her towards the stairs. Instead of climbing them he stopped and pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Draco said you were worried that I’d be cross with you about this.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded. “Are you?” she asked quietly.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course not. I appreciate your worry, but you didn’t know about it until this morning did you?” She shook her head, smiling at the effort he was putting into not slurring his words. He kissed her again. “Your eyes are pretty,” he said simply and turned, navigating the first three steps very carefully before stopping again. “So are yours.” He said to Draco. “Yours are like a wolf, and Hermione’s are like a cat.” And with that profound statement, he continued up the stairs leaving Draco looking confused behind them. “Can you cast a Patronus?” he asked Draco vaguely. “Because I saw Blaise’s this morning, and it was a cat.”</p><p> </p><p>“Puma,” Draco corrected, avoiding the question.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. That.” Harry stopped again, and Hermione nudged him forwards. “It was a nice Patronus.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. It’s lovely.” Draco closed his eyes. “So, wolves and cats, huh? Do they really go together?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ablso- asbo, yes,” Harry said vehemently and stuck his toothbrush in his mouth as Hermione laughed and Draco smiled. “Hermione polyjuiced into a cat once,” Harry said through a mouthful of toothpaste.</p><p> </p><p>“Harry, shhh!” Hermione spluttered as Draco looked at her wide-eyed as she tried to pull him out of the bathroom. Clearly, Harry was in the mood for drunken confessions.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not supposed to use polyjuice for animal-”</p><p> </p><p>“I know!!” she cut him off rather hysterically. “It was Millicent Bulstrode’s cat, and it was an accident. I was meant to polyjuice into her. Oh!” She clapped her hand over her mouth, realizing that she too had drunk too much as well, and therefore should probably stop talking also. Happily, Draco just laughed and let the matter go as Harry turned to the cupboard and held out three vials of a clear potion. Draco raised a brow in question as Harry downed one of them. </p><p> </p><p>“Sober up.” He winced as the effects of the potion hit. “Theo’s blend, it works a treat for avoiding hangovers.”</p><p> </p><p>“What have I told you about taking anything Theo’s made?” Draco raised an amused eyebrow, “you're an Auror, for Merlin’s sake!” Harry just shrugged and drank a vial of a different potion. “And what the hell’s that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Drought of Dreamless sleep.” Harry tried to look innocent and failed.  </p><p> </p><p>“Also, from Theo?” Harry nodded in reply, crossing to the bed and slipping under the covers. </p><p> </p><p>Draco rolled his eyes but downed his sober up potion nonetheless. “Uh, why should we not be taking this if Theo made it?” Hermione asked, eyeing her own vial suspiciously.</p><p> </p><p>“Because most of the ingredients in Theo’s concoctions are illegal or mind-altering in some way. Usually, they’re both.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry just fixed him with a sceptical look. “You can categorically tell me that you never touch any of it then, can you? <em>Auror</em> Malfoy?”</p><p> </p><p>“That's different.” Draco sniffed. “You're the golden boy. You’re supposed to behave yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>“And we all know you prefer it when I don’t,” Harry said as Draco sat on the bed beside him. </p><p> </p><p>“And I think I prefer you talking to me when you’re awake.” Draco laughed as Harry’s eyes closed.</p><p> </p><p>“I think I’ll pass on this then,” Hermione said, putting her untouched vial back into the bathroom cupboard then turning to follow Draco back down to the kitchen. She walked to the sink and filled the kettle, pulled the chamomile teabags out of the cupboard, and started to fuss with cups.</p><p> </p><p>Draco sat at the table with his legs stretched out, watching her in amusement. “Weren’t we doing this the other way round a few hours ago?” he asked, and she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“I believe we were.” </p><p> </p><p>“I also seem to remember you making me a promise about tonight…. That was directly after you told me off for saying I’d read this, by the way.” He threw Harry’s diary onto the table and grinned as she blushed.</p><p> </p><p>“Draco, I-” she poured boiling water into the cups and set them on the table. “I’m sorry. I, I didn't mean to imply that you were in the wrong.”</p><p> </p><p>He grinned. “Yes, you did, and I would have expected nothing less from you. I was deliberately goading you. I can still be an arse for winding people up sometimes. I’m sorry.” </p><p> </p><p>She stared at him as she blew on her tea to cool it. “Are you apologizing for winding me up or for being in the wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>He merely smirked. “Just read the diary, Hermione.” He picked up both of their cups, and led her upstairs to the lounge. “Not all of it mind, you’d be here all night, and some of it’s boring as hell. Just look at the entries that are marked for now, will you please.”</p><p> </p><p>He added more wood to the fireplace and poked the remaining embers with his wand until orange flames crackled into life. Hermione settled herself back against the comfy sofa cushions and pulled the fleece blanket over her legs. She took the notebook and opened it to the first flagged down page. The writing of this entry was as neat as Harry’s ever got. She took a deep breath and started to read. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Dear Hermione, </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I don’t know if you’ll ever read this, but I’m worried about you right now. I’m not very good at writing. You know that. I remember you despairing of Ron and me in school, your face would get all furrowed and cute, and you’d frown until you lost your temper and stomped your foot. Always your left foot, I don’t know why. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Anyway, I want to tell you so many things, but I can’t find the words, so I’ll put them here and hope you see them someday. I’m lost. I don’t know what to do. I miss you. I don’t know why I’ve pushed you away, and I’m sorry. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I thought that if I went out partying like Ron does, it might make all of the pain go away. Maybe it did briefly. For a couple of hours, I could lose myself in a woman, but then I’d wake up, and I’d feel worse. Much worse because whoever she was, she wasn’t you. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>But much as I love you, and I really do, you're away in your own little world at the moment too. So we both seem to be in a pickle, and I miss you. I really do. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Love H. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Hermione blinked through clouded eyes and blew out a long breath. Draco was still fussing with the fire and seemed to be giving her space, so she turned to the next marked entry.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Dear Hermione, </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> There’s something I need you to know. I don’t really know how to say it, so here goes. I kissed a man last night. I don’t know who he was, but damn he was hot. But I’m so confused because I like women too. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I really don’t know what or who I am anymore. I hope one day you can come back out of the corner you’ve backed yourself into, and then I can talk to you properly about all of this because I don’t like feeling this mixed up. I miss you. And I love you. Despite the man I met. I’m so confused right now. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Anyway, until you come back out, I’ll just keep scribbling everything down in here, and maybe you’ll read it all one day. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Love H. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“You see?” Draco whispered over her shoulder as he left the fire alone and started to fuss with candles instead, “he really did want you to know.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded and swallowed hard over the lump in her throat. “I didn’t mean to back away from life. It just kind of happened.” She sniffed and flicked forwards to a different marked page, but Draco placed his large hand over the book and gazed into her eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“I know that. Harry knows it too. No one blames you in the slightest. It’s okay, this is just Harry’s side of things. Just to warn you, things take a slightly different tone here, so please don’t be too shocked.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded and looked down at the page. This entry wasn’t addressed to her. It was one of the ones with sloppy writing, and the first few lines consisted entirely of angry capitalized swearing. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> They ask me what’s wrong, why I’m doing it and the answer is that I DON’T BLOODY WELL KNOW WHY I’M DOING IT!!! MAYBE ITS BECAUSE WHEN I WAS 17 FUCKING YEARS OLD I HAD TO STAND IN FRONT OF A FUCKING MADMAN AND LET HIM KILL ME!!! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Do you know what that feels like? DO YOU?” I didn’t think so! And why is that? OH YES, that’s because the only other people who know what that FEELS LIKE ARE FUCKING DEAD!!!!! Dead, because they didn’t conveniently have the Deathly freaking Hallows on them at the time. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>NO ONE ELSE KNOWS HOW IT FEELS!!! But if I’m drunk, then I don’t feel it either! So yeah, maybe that’s why. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, bollocks to all of you. FUCK OFF!! </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Clearly, that wasn’t a good night for Harry.” Draco flipped the diary forwards again before Hermione had a chance to process what she had just read. “Ironically, I know exactly how it feels to walk forwards facing the Dark Lord’s wand so he could have spoken to me about that. We were working together at the time after all.” He flipped forwards in the book, leaving Hermione somewhat speechless. “This is the one I really want you to read though.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Dear Hermione, </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I think I’ve worked it out. I’ve never had my parents, and therefore, no one has ever really been there to lead me in the right direction. I’ve found my way in life myself. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dumbledore made everything as cryptic as he possibly could. Why he felt the need to do that, I really don’t know. Things were hard enough as it was. Him being straightforward about things would have helped a lot. </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>Everything in my life was dangerous. Everything happened to </em> <em> me, and I got used to that. I took the Gryffindor thing totally to heart, and I lived on the adrenaline buzz of it all. Now all that’s gone and there’s nothing in its place, so I’m chasing that adrenaline rush myself. Getting into a fight in a muggle nightclub is a similar sort of buzz. I probably need to stop doing it that way. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I did something idiotic last night. I went home with a guy I met, and well, let’s just say it was eye-opening. But, I understand myself better because of it. The warning signs were there with this guy, and I went with him deliberately for that reason. It was an experience, one that I won’t be repeating. But I understand what I’m doing now. Sometimes I need the adrenaline rush that we used to have all the time. But I need to stop doing it irresponsibly. So, I've booked a bungee jump instead. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Hermione checked the date on that entry and gasped. “I remember that night,” she said, shocked to the very core. “That’s the first night he didn’t come home till about four in the morning. I was out of my mind with worry, I had no idea where he was or what he was getting up to!” She flipped forwards yet again as Draco lit another array of candles and waved his arm to turn out the light.</p><p> </p><p>This entry wasn’t addressed to her either.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Shit! Bugger! FUCK! That didn't go quite to plan. Fucking Malfoy with his bloody perfectly toned chest and arms, and his stupid arsed, perfect hair. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I fancy the bloody tosser. Why the hell can’t he see that? “I like to be with men as well as women in bed, Potter. Sometimes at the same time.” He says it, just like that. And I don’t know if he noticed, but I nearly came in my bloody pants. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hermione would never go for it. Never. WANKING, buggering FUUUUUUUUCK!!! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>And what else could I do? I didn’t mean to get drunk and let my predilections slip out. I didn’t mean to bloody well get arrested either, did I? Ah, CRAP!! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Draco just grinned, “I fancied him too, as we’ll establish later, and yes, I’m well aware of the effect my words had that night. That was the first time I fished him out of the police holding cells as well, by the way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait. What?” Hermione frowned. “You’ve done it twice?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco nodded. “I take it you thought it was only the once?” she nodded. “Okay, glossing over that one then, keep going!”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Dear Hermione. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> So I'm bisexual. I've done a lot of soul searching and research on this, research that would have been so much easier if I could have just told you, Hermione because you’re bloody brilliant and would have helped me.... (or done it for me…wink wink) </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I can't help but want to be with more than one person, though. Is this a side effect of being bisexual? No, it's not, it's just something I want, and according to Ron, it's not uncommon in the wizarding world, and it’s okay. He tells me that there are plenty of witches and wizards, maybe even some muggles, too, in what I now know are poly relationships that are monogamous. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>That's the part I really want. I want the three of us to be together. I want you, and I want Draco too. I want us three to be in a relationship with each other. Is this just me being difficult? I don't understand. And anyway, why does it mean I’m being difficult? Why can't I have two people? Who makes these damned rules anyway? So what if I'm different? I've always been different. I've never done a single bloody thing by the book in my life, so why change that now? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>She flipped forwards to the very last, short entry.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> SWEET HOLY FUCKING MERLIN, he wants me. And her. If Hermione feels that way too then, I think I’m going to die.  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“And that,” Draco said with some satisfaction, “was the second time I rescued him from the muggle police. That entry was written just before he went out and got plastered, and you know about the rest of that night. He’s not written anything since. How are you feeling about all of this now?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione was silent for a while, sipping the last of her tea while she thought. “How long have you been interested in Harry?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco snorted delicately. When Hermione turned to look at him, he rolled his eyes. “This is going to require more honesty on my part, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled and looked at him softly in the candlelight. “I hope so.”</p><p> </p><p>He sighed. “I’m not used to showing my cards like this, but both you and Harry seem to have a knack for making me do so. I’ve liked him for a long time. And you as well before you ask. Longer than you’d think.”</p><p> </p><p>“How long?” </p><p> </p><p>“Dammit, Granger!” He winced and rubbed his face with his hand, messing up his hair so that she itched to stroke it herself. Since we were kids, alright?”</p><p> </p><p>She stared at him for a long time, unable to look away. “Sixth year?” she asked when he said nothing more, and he shook his head. “Fifth year? Fourth?”</p><p> </p><p>“For you.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione felt her eyes widen with surprise. “And Harry?” Draco shook his head slowly. “Third year? Second year? First year?!” She almost shrieked the last words and he hushed her. </p><p> </p><p>“I met Potter for the first time in Madam Malkin’s. We were eleven years old. He caught my eye and kept it ever since. I didn’t even know who he was back then. That mental hair hid his scar, and I had no idea, but yeah, let’s just say that he made quite an impression.”</p><p> </p><p>“But you were, well, you were awful to both of us, all through school. Why? Why did you do that if you liked us both?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco sighed. He pulled away and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Hermione felt terrible for pressuring him and was just about to apologize when she stopped herself. She needed to know the answer to this. “I was brought up with certain beliefs, you need to understand this. I should have questioned them earlier than I did, there are no excuses for any of what I did or said to you all, but certain standards, certain behaviors were drilled into me so much that I just believed them. I was surrounded by them and I thought that was how everyone behaved. I tried to make friends with Harry before we were sorted and he snubbed me in front of everyone-”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you were-”</p><p> </p><p>“Being a git. I know that now, but I didn’t know it at the time. So his rebuttal only served to irritate me, and my preoccupation with him turned into a crush and then a bit of an obsession, if I'm honest. Then the war happened, and the aftermath, and well, here we are.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded as he fell silent. “What about me?” her voice was barely a whisper. He took her empty cup, put it on the table, and turned to face her in the candlelight. It suddenly felt very intimate as he took her hand in his and drew little circles over her palm with his index finger.</p><p> </p><p>“You? you came down the stairs wearing a periwinkle blue ballgown in our fourth year, and you took my heart with you on your way. You’ve held it ever since. Pansy slapped me around the face for watching you all evening instead of paying attention to her.” He smiled fondly. “So, there I was, completely obsessed with the pair of you all through school and beyond, and I still feel that way now if I’m honest.”</p><p> </p><p>“And Harry’s clearly liked us both for a long time?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. You see this entry here,” Draco pointed to the diary, “the comment that I made to Harry that night, about me liking both men and women was a test. I had my suspicions about him, and I wanted to know if I was right, because, well, because I wanted him. And you. I want you both too, you see. Harry wants you and me, and I want you and him. If Harry wanted us all to be together too, well, that was just perfect in my eyes, but I had to know. It was driving me crazy, and so I asked him outright. And yes, I saw his reaction. I pretty much came in my pants too when he gave me his answer.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco paused to bring her fingers to his lips and to press a kiss to them before resuming his stroking, “I know you’ve been in a bad place recently, Hermione, but can you tell me how you feel now you know everything please?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed. It was the day for significant revelations all around. “I’ve always loved Harry. It hurt me more than I've let on when he did all of this,” she gestured to the diary on Draco's lap, “I still love him, and I want to be with him, no question.” She looked down at her and Draco’s joined hands. It felt right to be with him like this too. Strange but right. </p><p> </p><p>She had paused for a second too long though, because Draco’s hand twitched in hers. “But not me?”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him sharply and saw the devastation in his eyes before he quickly steeled his expression, a move that she knew he was very accustomed to. “Please don't do that,” she said quietly, “I was just thinking about my feelings for you, sometimes it takes me a moment to word things the way I want to. This is all very new for me. I haven’t had years for my feelings to grow. I like you a lot, though, and I want to give this a try. You asked me to understand where you were coming from. Now I need to ask you the same favor. I want to do this Draco, I…. I like you. Really. But please, will you not hide your feelings from me? If I make you feel something, I want to know what it is. I want to see it on your face.”</p><p> </p><p>He looked at her for a long moment, then finally nodded. “I’ll try.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then I’m in,” she said, leaning forwards to kiss him gently on the lips.“Just so you know, the more I’m getting to know you, the more I’m falling for you.” </p><p> </p><p>“Really?” She could see the moment his vulnerability showed, and the moment he automatically went to blank it off, then forced himself not to.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded. “I don’t lie, Draco. I don’t say things I don’t mean either. I won’t hurt you. You can let yourself be vulnerable with me.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded as he leaned down to kiss her. “You're mine now then, both of you. No shutting down, no hiding behind diaries, or Occlumency anymore, because we all do the same thing, don't we? All three of us are terrible at showing our feelings for fear of getting hurt. Time for a new start for all three of us. I don’t plan to hurt you, or Harry either.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, looking up and seeing the dancing candlelight reflected in his soft grey eyes. His kiss was easy, and she rested her head on his shoulder, feeling all of her worries slowly draining away as she settled down, feeling totally at ease wrapped up safely in his arms. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi…..!! I hope everyone is okay and still enjoying this story, Here is the latest chapter….. there’s an advance warning needed here though, (eeek!!!) this story is rated E for a reason, and so if smut isn’t your thing, you might just want to skip this particular installment!</p><p>Thank you so much to my alpha/beta for all your help.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione woke up the next morning sandwiched between Harry and Draco and feeling as if she was in the safest and warmest cocoon in the whole world. “Good morning,” Harry stretched luxuriously, then pointed his hand vaguely towards the bathroom to wandlessly summon a vial of hangover potion. </p><p> </p><p>“Why do I get the feeling that you’ve done that a few times before?” Hermione asked, frowning in concern as he caught the vial in his outstretched fingers and flipped off the cap. </p><p> </p><p>“Just a minute,” he drained the vial while wincing at the taste, “sorry what? I have no idea what you mean.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm.” She shifted around and eventually gave in to the inevitable and got up to go to the toilet. “Was that another one of Theo’s magical mixes?” she called from the bathroom, but there was no reply from Harry, only the sound of the bed creaking and Draco grumbling about her absence as she made her way back to bed. </p><p> </p><p>“Come here, you.” Draco pulled her into his arms as she settled back down. You promised me a kiss last night, then promptly fell asleep on me in the lounge, so I didn’t get it. You definitely owe me one now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do I?” She smiled, pulling her wayward curls out of her eyes. </p><p> </p><p>Draco grinned as he leaned forward to kiss her softly. “Yes. You know, I always dreamed that one day I’d wake up next to the pair of you, and it seems that the reality of doing so is even better than the dream. Good morning, beautiful.”</p><p> </p><p>“Morning.” He gave her another long, lingering kiss then slid his hand smoothly under her pajama top as he lazily explored her mouth with his tongue. She gasped quietly as his fingers purposefully brushed her nipple, and it pebbled instantly in response. </p><p> </p><p>“Mmm.” She sighed as Harry turned onto his side and moved the duvet back slightly to watch. She smiled as she turned her face from Draco to Harry, and Harry pulled her to him, capturing her lips for a deep, slow kiss of his own. “Of all the ways to wake up in the morning, I think I like this one the best too.” </p><p> </p><p>“Do you?” Draco asked, still playing with her nipple and sucking in an affected breath as he watched Harry kiss her again. “I’m glad to hear that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Before we go any further though,” Hermione said, stilling them both as she pulled back slightly, “I need to tell Harry that we, umm,” she paused awkwardly, “okay so, Draco showed me your diary last night, Harry. You need to know that I read some of the entries.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry winced. “Oh, okay. Am I in trouble this morning then?”</p><p> </p><p>She blinked in surprise, “No. Well, yes, actually, now that you come to mention it, for a couple of dangerous things that you did, but mostly I just wanted to tell you that I’d seen it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.” He smiled as he stroked her face softly, “both for reading it and for not telling me off.” He reached to the nightstand for his glasses and put them on, “you don’t look too cross with me either,” he said, peering at her as Draco laughed. “I wanted you to read it, so I’m glad you did, and Draco, you may laugh at my concern, but have you ever been on the receiving end of Hermione’s wrath?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, actually,” Draco ran his fingers down his nose with a shiver, “I have. Although I’m told, it was thoroughly deserved at the time.”</p><p> </p><p>“It was.” Hermione asserted. “Anyway, that was only a slap, Draco. I don’t know quite what you were complaining so much abou-”</p><p> </p><p>Draco cut her off by flipping her onto her back, playfully pinning her down, and kissing her as she giggled. “It was a hard punch! You broke my nose with it, you crazy witch,” he murmured, kissing her yet again. “I know I told you last night that I fell for you at the yule ball, and that is true, but that punch was the first time you ever touched me, and your touch was electric, even back then. Not to mention painful,” he finished wryly as he let her go. </p><p> </p><p>“That can’t have been the first time we touched, surely?” her voice was a little shaky, his grabbing her like that had affected her intensely. She wondered if she had the nerve to ask him to do it again.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, well, you hated me back then,” he said, running his fingers down her bare inner arm and making her shiver. “We were hardly on touching terms.”</p><p> </p><p>Her breathing rate picked up at the feel of his caress. “I don’t remember touching anyone much at thirteen years old,” she reasoned as his fingers tightened around her wrist, making her whimper.</p><p> </p><p>“I should hope not,” he teased, “touching should wait until you are at least fifteen. That’s what I did anyway.” He ran a finger slowly down her cheek, and her whole body reacted with another shiver. “I see that you quite like touching these days, though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Now yes, not at fifteen. That’s illegal anyway,” she protested weakly as he used his fingers to stroke the side of her face. His thumb dragged her bottom lip slowly down, and she flicked her tongue out to lick the pad, making him gasp softly in response. </p><p> </p><p>“Touching isn’t. What age did touching begin in your world then?” his eyes were darkening in the morning light, and his gaze was intensifying the longer he looked at her. Harry cleared his throat awkwardly beside them, and she laughed. </p><p> </p><p>“It was seventeen for me, and for the record, it was with Harry. Assuming sex and loss of virginity is what you’re alluding to.” She pressed into his fingers, craving more of his touch. “I was a good girl.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, “I should hope you're not anymore. And if you are, then you should know that I plan to very…... thoroughly….. corrupt….. all of that nonsense….. out of you.” He kissed her after every few words, and she mewled as she met his probing tongue with her own. </p><p> </p><p>“You make a lot of bold promises Malfoy, I hope you can follow them all through,” she said as Harry snorted with laughter and she fixed Draco with her best attempt at a smirk.</p><p> </p><p>Draco chuckled darkly at her incitement and grinned. “Believe me. I plan to follow through on every bold promise I’ve ever made. To both of you.” He reached over Hermione’s chest to pinch Harry’s nipple, making him hiss. “Let me see you two together.” </p><p> </p><p>“Doing what?” she asked breathlessly, as Draco groaned. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, if it’s the time for following through on bold promises, I want to see the way you look at each other, the way you kiss, the way Harry slowly slides his rock hard, <em> throbbing </em> cock deep inside your dripping pussy….” his voice slowed and dropped in pitch with every word he spoke. He smirked as both of them groaned loudly, “dirty talk, again, for both of you…. I’ll remember that.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione left Draco’s side and pressed herself up against Harry instead. Harry kissed her deeply, tangling his fingers into her hair as he pulled her close. She let him take charge, lately they had been playing around with her taking the dominant role during sex, but with Draco watching, she wanted Harry to lead, and he seemed to know that instinctively. She ground herself against him, melding entirely into him and loving the way they fit together so perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>Harry bunched her nightie up, and she lifted herself so that he could slip it over her head, leaving her naked save for her panties. She gazed at him for a moment, taking in his hard, toned chest, his smattering of dark hair, and the dragon tattoo on his shoulder, until he broke the spell with another heated kiss. She felt Draco’s hand on her arm, guiding her backward onto the bed. “I can’t see if you're both laying on your sides,” he whispered, “and I like to watch.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you?” Harry asked, groaning as he stroked Hermione’s tight nipple, “that’s good because I love to have people watch me.” He leaned down to suck the sensitive bud firmly into his mouth, and she cried out, arching into him, silently begging for more.</p><p> </p><p>Harry sucked harder, she felt his teeth graze her sensitive skin as Draco dropped down to mirror Harry’s efforts on her other side. The feeling of both of their mouths on her was exquisite. She squealed as Draco caught her with his teeth, much harder than Harry ever did, and a rush of lust scorched through her body like liquid fire. </p><p> </p><p>“Too much?” Draco asked.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, her breath coming in shallow pants. “No. Not too much.” The edge of pain had felt incredible. She closed her eyes, inhaling sharply as Harry crawled lower, kissing his way down her body and leaving a trail of tingling goose bumps in his wake.</p><p> </p><p>He slid her panties down and off of her legs, then propped himself up on his beautifully sculpted arms and swiped his tongue through her silken folds. She cried out sharply with pleasure as he licked deep inside of her, and then turned her head to look at Draco, who was watching them both with lust filled eyes. As every lick and caress of Harry’s amazingly talented tongue caused her to react, Hermione could see her desire mirrored straight back at her in Draco’s expression. </p><p> </p><p>Harry flicked his tongue over her clit, while Draco kissed her mouth. She whimpered as Harry pressed a final kiss to her sex, crawled up the bed, pushed Draco down and straddled him, then leaned down to kiss him. “Fuck Hermione,” Draco said when Harry pulled back, “you taste like heaven, darling.”</p><p> </p><p>She was panting with arousal as she watched Harry and Draco kiss again, and she gasped loudly as Harry moved his hand down to play with her clit. He stroked it with his thumb, then slid one, then two of his long fingers inside her and curled them against her back wall. He pressed against the sensitive bundle of nerves, and she sighed as she drew her legs up to afford him better access.</p><p> </p><p>When Harry finally pulled his hand away, he chuckled darkly at her whine of protest, changed their position, and nudged the tip of his hard length insistently against her. She yielded instantly, crying out with pleasure as he pushed smoothly inside.</p><p> </p><p>Draco slid himself up against her naked bottom to sandwich her tightly in between them both. Having both of their bodies pressed against her like that was almost too much for Hermione to bear. Every thrust Harry gave bumped her backward into Draco, and he matched their movements beat for beat until she was almost delirious with pleasure.</p><p> </p><p>“You like this do you?” Draco whispered into her ear, “you like the feeling of being fucked by two men at once?” she nodded, not even attempting to form words. “One of these days, we’ll do this with Harry’s cock deep in your pussy and mine buried inside your delectable little arse.” He punctuated his words with a hard snap of his hips, which coincided perfectly with Harry’s next bold thrust, and she cried out as both of her partners caused the tension inside her to build to almost unbearable levels.</p><p> </p><p>“Scream for me, darling,” Draco encouraged. “Let us hear how we make you feel, let us know how much you like the thought of both of us taking you at the same time.” His words caused her orgasm to finally crest and she detonated between them, calling out both of their names loudly as wave after wave of volcanic, white-hot bliss coursed through her body. </p><p> </p><p>The tight clench of her inner walls tipped Harry over the edge too. She felt Draco reach around and pull Harry tightly into them both. Harry gave one final, impossibly deep thrust and then stilled, leaning his head back and moaning loudly as he came apart inside of her. </p><p> </p><p>When Hermione finally calmed, Harry carefully guided himself out. When she was free Draco pulled her gently back into his arms. He was still as hard as a rock, and she gasped as he ground himself against her. “Are you alright?” he asked softly, and she nodded, turning around in his arms, still feeling dazed from her monumental orgasm. “Have you ever been with two men at the same time before today?” </p><p> </p><p>“No,” she whispered. Something dark and dangerous looking flashed briefly in Draco’s eyes as he smiled in satisfaction. Hermione looked at him curiously, she’d seen several hints of half hidden desires in his eyes this morning before he’d quickly locked them out of sight, and she was curious as to what he was trying to hide. “What is it? Why do you keep looking at me like that?” she asked, watching him closely and trying to read his subconscious responses.</p><p> </p><p>“Like what?” He licked his lips, and his face blanked slightly, making her frown,</p><p> </p><p>“You promised me last night that you wouldn’t hide your thoughts anymore,” she reminded him as she smoothed his silky, white hair gently out of his eyes. “What’s wrong?” </p><p> </p><p>Draco gave a troubled sigh. “It's just the way you make me feel, alright? You make me worry that I’m going to lose control, and I don’t want to scare you away.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione’s surprise softened as she saw his genuine concern. She stared at his broad chest and reached up to take the pajama top he was wearing off. He stilled her hand with a hint of fear in his eyes. “Leave that on for now, please,” he whispered, and she nodded, despite not understanding why. </p><p> </p><p>“Draco,” she dropped her voice almost to a whisper, trying her best to sound reassuring. “You won't scare me away. I told you last night that I’m falling for you. Your possessive demands and your crazily filthy words only turn me on even more. If you want me, tell me what you want to do to me, then come and do it.” She watched his face as he battled what looked like an internal war. When he finally relaxed, she nodded and threw him a teasing smile. “That’s better. Now, as I said, come and do it. Unless you’re all talk and you can't actually follow anything through-”</p><p> </p><p>She broke off, laughing as she found herself suddenly pinned to the mattress underneath him again. Harry was sitting up, watching them with desire darkening his emerald green eyes. She looked up helplessly at Draco and moaned as fresh waves of arousal pooled low in her belly. “Cheeky little minx, aren’t you?” Draco finally kissed her without holding back, and it was like nothing she had ever experienced before. He claimed her, taking exactly what he wanted and leaving her breathlessly panting for more. “You asked for it, remember that, if I do lose control. And just so you know, sass me like that again, and I’ll put you over my knee for the spanking of your life.” </p><p> </p><p>She shivered, arching up to rub her aching core against him. “I want you to lose control, Draco. I like that I can do this to you.” He pressed against her again, and she bit her lip suggestively as she gazed up at him, wondering if she dared provoke him still further. “Tell me what you want to do to me…..”</p><p> </p><p>Draco took a deep breath and closed his eyes as if he was still undecided about what to do. “Malfoy,” Harry said, his voice so low that Hermione could barely hear it, and she gasped, she had never heard him speak in that tone before. “If you don’t stop holding back on her, you’ll be over my fucking knee in a minute, and I won’t stop spanking your arse until it’s Gryffindor red. You’ll be begging me for mercy-”</p><p> </p><p>“For fuck’s sake, Potter!” Draco gritted his teeth, visibly affected, “that’s my job-”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?” Harry grinned, “who says I can’t top you? It’s only fair it goes both ways after all-”</p><p> </p><p>“You two are going to be the death of me,” Draco groaned as he locked eyes with Hermione. “You sure you want this, then?” </p><p> </p><p>She smiled as she nodded. “Every…. single…. last…. bit,” she said slowly, drawing the words out as he closed his eyes. When he opened them next, something had changed. He kissed her without holding back, and it was wild and feral. He grabbed her roughly and sank into her, his lips demanded her submission and she heard him sigh with relief as she kissed him just as desperately back.</p><p> </p><p>He reached down, feeling her ready for him, lined himself up, then without a word slid inside, pausing halfway to let her adjust to his size then slowly sliding all the way in. Hermione groaned as he filled her, inch by delicious inch. She lifted her legs to wrap them around him, drawing him down deeper, and he thrust firmly, finally sheathing himself to the hilt inside her. </p><p> </p><p>“You okay?” he gasped, and she nodded, wriggling against him to encourage him to move.</p><p> </p><p>“Very.” He was relatively gentle at first, and she met his considerate movements politely until he pulled back to look her in the eye.</p><p> </p><p>“More?” he asked. She nodded, crying out as he thrust into her sharply. “Yes or no?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!” she said on a strangled cry and clenched her internal muscles tightly around him. </p><p> </p><p>“Fuck!” Draco muttered, and that was the moment that his restraint finally snapped. He thrust his hips violently and bit down on the sensitive skin of her neck. She pushed into the feeling, the sharp sting of pain exciting her still further.</p><p> </p><p>It was fast, hard and frantic, and she came almost instantly, but Draco completely ignored her first climax. He just picked his rhythm up even more, thrusting into her until they were both panting with exertion.</p><p> </p><p>This time when she came, it was with an intensity that she had never felt before. She screamed his name, and right at the peak of her climax, Draco nestled his face into her hair and exploded within her. When he finally collapsed down onto her, she smiled with exhausted satisfaction and tried to catch her breath. </p><p> </p><p>Being with Harry and Draco had been, without a doubt, the most intense experience of her life. As she finally came back down to earth, she realized that by letting himself go, Draco had given her what she had always wanted and had never entirely found. He had given her mind blowing, uncontrollably explosive sex, and she smiled, finally understanding what had worried him so much.</p><p> </p><p>Given their volatile history, sex between the pair of them could never have been anything else, but she had loved every single moment of it. As had Harry if the pained look on his face and the affected way he was stroking himself was anything to go by. </p><p> </p><p>Draco opened his eyes with a smirk and patted Hermione’s thigh as he rolled carefully off of her. “Looks like Potter needs a hand over there, or a little kiss at least. I’d hate him to feel left out.” Draco grinned, “have you got enough energy left to suck him off while I watch, darling?”</p><p> </p><p>It turned out that she did. In fact, it turned out that she had the energy for a whole lot more than that, so much so that they all spent most of Saturday and a great deal of Sunday either in bed, eating takeaway in their pajamas, watching tele, talking about the veil and their work plans, and getting to know each other in great detail, in every single way possible. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everybody, and welcome to the next little installment of this story. I’d like to say a huge, ma-hoo-sive thank you to every single person that has taken the time to read this so far, and an even bigger thank you to those who have taken the time to leave Kudos and/or a review comment. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart, because every single one makes me smile, and the encouragement makes writing this story feel so worthwhile. </p><p>Many thanks to my alpha/beta for your help as well.</p><p>Here we are then…. The next chapter of Bring Me To Life, I hope you enjoy it. XXxx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione arrived at the Ministry of Magic on Monday morning brimming with curiosity. She, Harry, and Draco had spent a lot of time over the past weekend discussing the arch and the possibilities that lay beyond its eerie, fluttering curtain, and by now, she was desperate to get started on the practical side of the investigation. She was hoping that something exciting would happen to definitively prove that their theories were right, but, unfortunately, their first week of study wasn’t quite that dramatic. </p><p> </p><p>Instead of visiting the places that had been important to Sirius throughout his life, as Hermione had been hoping to do, she and Blaise spent the entire week quietly working on the theory side of the project inside the Death Room itself.</p><p> </p><p>They tested and retested Blaise’s ideas, trying their best to pull each one apart and to prove it wrong, but by the time Hermione left work on Friday evening, they had achieved the exact opposite. Hermione was mentally exhausted, but she was also convinced that Blaise was right with every single one of his predictions. She was now absolutely certain that if they found the right spell and the right place to perform it, then Sirius should indeed be able to come back through the veil.</p><p> </p><p>The following Monday morning, Hermione stood fidgeting impatiently in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, waiting for Blaise, Harry, and Draco to finally begin their first field trip of the investigation.</p><p> </p><p>The kitchen table was groaning under the weight of many different recording instruments, most of which Blaise had borrowed from the Department of Mysteries’ resources section. Many of these were strange, spindly looking instruments similar or identical to the ones that Albus Dumbledore had kept in the headmaster’s office during his time at Hogwarts. Now that she knew what all of these instruments did, Hermione couldn’t help but wonder why Dumbledore had felt the need to have so many of them present at the school.  </p><p> </p><p>Also on the table were several different types of energy gauges, three different spiritometers, a resonance imaging graph, and a sound recorder, all of which were currently on loan from the Unspeakables who worked in the Spirit and Hauntings Research room. There was even muggle ghost hunting equipment similiar to the kind Hermione had seen on the television as a child, Infra-red cameras, electromagnetic field recorders, and a spirit box.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, at the very end of the table was the majority of Harry and Draco’s Auror kit. A jumble of magic revealers, dark and light energy receptors, spellnet recorders, and several more things that Hermione didn’t recognize had all been carelessly abandoned in a heap before the boys had gone to make coffee.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione was itching to get started, but Blaise just stood by the sink yawning. Harry caught her eye and smiled sympathetically. He knew how much this investigation meant to her and how she loved nothing more than researching a subject and then scientifically recording her findings. Still, neither Blaise nor Draco knew her well enough to recognize how impatient she felt right now. “Tough night, was it?” Draco asked, smirking at Blaise as he put the kettle on.</p><p> </p><p>Blaise grinned and rubbed his eyes. “More like a busy weekend, actually.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco chuckled. “Some things never change, I see. Was she anyone we know?”</p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely. If I remember rightly, you know Tracy very well indeed.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco shook his head. “Not that well. You're getting me mixed up with Theo and Greg. I’ve never been with her, although it wasn’t through lack of trying on my part.”</p><p> </p><p>“You mean you didn’t get your way for once?” Blaise asked with a smirk of his own as he rubbed at the stubble on his usually clean shaven chin. “That figures, actually. She’s not keen on blondes, which works out very nicely for me. Right, I need to wake up, especially if today is going to consist of so many… gadgets.” He threw the table a mildly disdainful look and turned to the kettle, prodding it with his wand to hurry it along. Harry set cups on the side as Draco started to set the Auror equipment up, and Hermione began to sort out the equally tangled pile of D.O.M. equipment. </p><p> </p><p>The four of them were divided in their opinions on the recording apparatus. Hermione and Draco preferred the scientific approach and liked gathering measurable data, while Blaise and Harry disliked using so much tech. They both argued that feeling the energy of a place was a much more natural and magical way of working, and although Hermione could see some merit in their views, it didn’t stand up to scrutiny in her logical, fact-based brain.</p><p> </p><p>There were a lot of different devices to set up. It took over an hour to get everything in working order and finally, after what felt like an eternity of muttering and angle checking, they were all satisfied.</p><p> </p><p>The spindly silver instruments sat whirring and clinking quietly and occasionally emitting puffs of white smoke. The spirit detector sat drawing its readings on a graph and periodically beeping when it picked up a spike of some invisible force. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione picked up her notepad and started to write down the results as they came in.</p><p> </p><p>They had decided to use the kitchen as a control zone. As the heart of the house, and seeing as it contained the only fireplace patched into the floo network, many people came and went through it, and since it had never been a place of particular interest to Sirius, none of them felt that they would pick up any significant readings here. However, they all agreed that they needed a baseline reading from a neutral room to measure the rest of the house against.</p><p> </p><p>Once all of the readings were recorded, Harry peered over her shoulder to look at the list. “House Elf activity, that’s got to be from Kreacher when he visits to check that we’re eating properly and not letting the housework slip. Mild spirit activity, I think that’s only to be expected in a house this old. General light magic, some darker stuff but not much, again that’s to be expected in a house that was inhabited by pureblood zealots. There’s nothing remarkable in here at all,” Harry said after a minute. “This room is exactly as we thought it would be.”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that line?” Hermione asked.</p><p> </p><p>Blaise frowned, pulling his glasses down from the top of his head to study it more closely. “Current dark magic.” He turned to frown at Harry, “why's that on here?”</p><p> </p><p>“That's my magical signature, don’t worry about it,” Draco said, looking slightly uncomfortable as he glared at the fine red line. </p><p> </p><p>“Draco’s magic always makes that spike on the dark detectors,” Harry agreed, throwing him an apologetic look. “We think it’s because of his Dark Mark. Some of Vol-sorry, some residual energy still lives inside him, unfortunately.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s alright. You can say his name.” Draco rolled his eyes, “we’re all friends here, and there’s no point beating around the bush. Some of V-, okay, It appears that <em> I </em> still can’t say his name, some of the Dark Lord’s energy is still hanging around inside of me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Blaise nodded and said no more as Hermione peered at the line curiously. It hadn’t occurred to her that any dark magic would remain inside Draco from his Death Eater days, but she wasn’t overly surprised to find that it had, given the level of evil that she knew had been branded into all of Voldemort’s followers. </p><p> </p><p>As they got ready to move upstairs, Draco looked at the summary that Hermione had scribbled onto the notepad. “I wouldn’t bother reading it too closely, mate,” Blaise said, levitating some of the heavy instruments up the stairs in front of him. “That might be the scientific opinion, but I can give you my professional thoughts on the usefulness of that room much more quickly.”</p><p> </p><p>“Go on then.” Draco quirked an eyebrow in Blaise’s direction and nearly let a spectrometer fall as he turned the corner. </p><p> </p><p>“There’s sweet bugger all there, and it’s not worth wasting our time on it anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco nodded with a smirk. “That’s your professional opinion, is it Zabini? The one you write on your <em> professional </em> reports?”</p><p> </p><p>“To be fair,” Harry laughed, “I’ve seen a couple of his past reports, and he’s not far off. And I happen to agree. I’ve never felt a single thing amiss in the kitchen. Lounge next?” he asked, pausing in the doorway.</p><p> </p><p>“Yep. Then outside to the shed and the motorbike since the garden is on the same level of the house, then Sirius’ room and Regulus’, then finally the attic.” Hermione said, reading from her list of places to check at Grimmauld.</p><p> </p><p>“Why the attic?” Blaise asked as he set the equipment down on the lounge table looking confused.</p><p> </p><p>“Sirius hid out there with Buckbeak a lot,” Harry explained. “That Hippogriff that Malfoy tried to condemn to a death sentence in our third year at school, remember?” he clarified as Blaise nodded. “Well, myself, Ron, and Hermione saved Buckbeak the same night that we saved Sirius, and they both lived secretly in the attic here for a while.”</p><p> </p><p>“I remember that very well, actually. After all, that’s why Hermione punched Draco, and he’s had the hots for her ever since,” Blaise teased as Hermione huffed out an irritated sigh, put the spellnet detector down, and glowered at Blaise.</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously, boys, I really do remember it being more of a slap than a pun-”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise laughed and started to set up his equipment again. “Really? I think Madam Pomfrey would disagree. Theo too. Did you know that he got detention three nights in a row for supposedly being the one who did that?”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Why?!” Hermione gasped and Harry looked up in surprise as Draco pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and gave a pained groan.  </p><p> </p><p>“Must we go here?” Draco asked, “I’ll remember this if you ever want me to be your wingman again, Zabini.”</p><p> </p><p>“It was because,” Blaise grinned and blew Draco a kiss as Draco mimed punching him, “Madam Pomfrey wanted to know who had broken Draco’s nose. He wouldn’t tell her, so she passed the matter onto Snape. So, ever the gentleman, Draco told them it was Theo rather than drop you in it, or let Snape use legilimency to find out for himself.”</p><p> </p><p>“But!!” Hermione spun to stare at Draco in horror, “poor Theo. I mean why did you drop him in it?! It wasn’t him!” </p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Draco shrugged, “ but it had to be someone, and I wasn’t about to rat you out. Anyway, it’s not as bad as it sounds. It was payback for him copying my Transfiguration homework three weeks running. When McGonagall pulled us both in for it, he saved his skin and told her it was the other way round. He’d told her I copied his. Old McGonagall never liked me much, so she believed him, and I had detention with the old bag two Friday nights in a row. She kept me there till midnight both times, and I was pissed off. Revenge,” he grinned wickedly, “was sweet.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione was still staring at Draco in horror while Blaise chuckled, and even Harry looked slightly amused. “It was definitely a punch, Hermione,” Harry confirmed, “A good one too. Even myself and Ron winced.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ohhh!” She frowned, scrunched up her face, and was just about to stamp her foot when she remembered Harry’s diary entry and put her left foot carefully back on the ground, took a deep breath, and forced herself to relax and to let the matter drop. “Shall we continue, boys?” she asked with as much dignity as she could muster, and tried not to frown when they all laughed. </p><p> </p><p>The readings they took from the lounge were as unremarkable as the previous ones taken in the kitchen. The same was true for the ones they took in the purpose built shed, and the next set that they took directly from the old motorbike itself. They took a break for lunch and then levitated the equipment up a further flight of stairs ready to start testing in Sirius’s old bedroom. </p><p> </p><p>Harry had tidied up a little since Hermione had been in here last. There was no longer a nest of messy blankets beside the bed, and the cups and snack wrappers that had littered the area were now gone, but all of the old objects and junk from the rest of the house remained. </p><p> </p><p>“Umm, Potter,” Draco said, entering the room and stopping to stare at the suddenly frantic gauges and monitors that were now struggling to escape from his arms, “what the actual fuck?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Harry stared at the furiously working silver instruments in surprise. “Yes. There might be a few... umm, darker objects up here.”</p><p> </p><p>“No shit!” Blaise said, looking around him in wonder. “Have you ever had Aurors in here, Harry? Apart from yourself, that is?”</p><p> </p><p>“In all honesty, no. Not since the house served as headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix and Mad Eye, Kingsley, and Tonks were all coming and going from here regularly. I didn’t think it was a good idea to invite any Aurors back after the war ended.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco blew out a long breath and smirked, “It’s a good job it’s me that’s here now then, else I think you’d be arrested on the spot. What the hell have you got in here?” He set the still protesting instruments down and stepped towards the bed, looking at the piles of cardboard boxes, books, artifacts, and other items that were piled carelessly all around the room. </p><p> </p><p>All of the things that had been gathered here had come from the rest of the house during past dark magic purges, and they had all been lumped up here together as there was simply nowhere else for them to go.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione knew that the music box that sent people to sleep was in here, there was an enchanted dollhouse whose secret they had never figured out, several extraordinarily dark and unpleasant books, and several other unidentified items that had sent Harry’s dark energy detectors into meltdown mode in the past. “And there was me thinking you were the poster boy for the light side.” Draco continued, “Fucking hell, Harry, If I’d had known that you had all this stashed up here, I’d have told you I fancied you years ago!”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s nice to know that you like me for my wonderful personality and body Draco,” Harry laughed as Draco put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.</p><p> </p><p>“You know I care for you. Hopefully, you do anyway. I know I’m not too good at showing that at times, but this…. There are things in this room that rival some of the things in Malfoy Manor, and that’s saying something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Even the -” Blaise began, looking somewhat surprised at Draco’s rare public show of affection, and was hit instantly with a silencing spell as Harry and Hermione stared curiously at them both. </p><p> </p><p>“No,” Draco said, abruptly releasing Harry. “Nothing rivals that.” </p><p> </p><p>“Nothing rivals what?” Hermione asked, starting to sort out the still frantic equipment before the room was engulfed in white smoke from the freely spinning dark detector. “Is there a way to stop this before we all get asphyxiated?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Blaise said with a frown. “If there’s dark energy present, it will pick it up. Just put it outside the door and it will settle down once it’s out of range.” </p><p> </p><p>“Right.” Hermione scooped all of the D.O.M.s protesting devices up and took them out onto the landing, where they all quietened down significantly. “Let’s read one device at a time. I can’t cope with them all bleeping at once like this.”</p><p> </p><p>Once the room was quiet, Harry set up the spellnet and magic detectors, and when Draco and Blaise had finished poking around the room and joined them by the bed, they all stood by to watch as some rather different readings came in. </p><p> </p><p>The results of this set of tests were genuinely shocking. “General magic. Well, that much is obvious,” Blasie said as Hermione wrote their findings down. “Light magic. Dark magic. Every shade of grey magic in between. Cursed objects. I think all of those frequencies are coming from the artifacts in this room, and we can safely ignore them for now. This is what I’m interested in,” he held up a frantic spiritometer and a still whirring and beeping energy gauge. “These two specifically are set at-”</p><p> </p><p>“The exact same frequency as the arch,” Hermione finished weakly. “And that’s the exact same reading that we got in the Death room.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Blaise agreed, adjusting his glasses and finally looking satisfied. “It’s identical.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry sat down on Sirius’ bed, breathing hard. “Shit,” he muttered.</p><p> </p><p>“Very eloquent.” Draco smiled, offering him a hand. Harry took it and held onto Draco for support.</p><p> </p><p>Smiling softly at Harry and Draco’s interactions, Hermione brought the sound recorder back into the room and set it down in the place that Harry’s writing nest had been. She set the bell to record and silently held her breath until the metal spindle flipped and the bell turned back the other way.</p><p> </p><p>As far as Hermione could tell, nothing had happened, but, watching Harry, she suspected that she had missed something rather important. He was still holding Draco’s hand, but the color had drained from his face until he was as pale as a ghost. “Can you hear that?” Harry whispered, and she frowned, still listening as hard as she could but still only hearing silence.</p><p> </p><p>“Hear what?” Draco asked with a confused shake of his head. </p><p> </p><p>“That. That whispering. It’s the… it’s….” Harry closed his eyes and inhaled a quivering breath, “it's the same whispering I can hear through the veil. The whispering that I could hear when Sirius… <em> fell. </em> It’s the whispering that I can hear and most other people can’t, and it’s here. Right now. In this room.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise nodded and took the sound recorder out of the room to give them a moment of privacy together.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione crossed the room to Harry, and he pulled her down to sit on his lap, wrapped his spare arm around her, and held her close. He buried his face into her hair as Draco lowered himself onto the bed on Harry’s other side and took Harry’s hand in both of his own. Hermione twisted around until she was sitting on Harry’s thigh, and she felt Draco wrap his other arm around her so that the three of them were all holding onto each other.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think we can do this?” Harry asked in a quiet voice, “do you really think we can bring him back?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” Hermione answered truthfully as Draco stroked Harry’s arm. “But with all of these readings supporting what we already thought was a possibility, I believe we need to try.”</p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely,” Draco agreed. “And if we don’t try it, we’ll spend forever wondering what could have been. “We’ve got you, though, Harry. You're not doing stuff like this alone anymore. You’ve got us now.”</p><p> </p><p>They sat like that for a long time until Harry finally took a deep breath and patted Hermione on the thigh. “Thank you. Both of you. I needed to hear that. Come on then, let’s finish up these recordings, shall we?” Hermione nodded and stood up. Harry nodded to both of them and, without saying a word, strode out of the door and into Regulus’s room to help Blaise.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Once all of the readings in the house had been completed and the equipment was packed away, they settled down at the kitchen table to look over the results. It was after six, and they had been busy all day. Hermione was feeling almost as tired as Harry looked. She pulled out the notepad she had been writing the results in and cleared her throat. </p><p> </p><p>“Right.” Blaise scrutinized her perfect handwriting and grinned, “I do wish you’d joined me years ago, Granger. This is so much easier with a partner, especially one as smart and gifted as you. Okay,” he smiled as she glowed with pride at his praise. “Kitchen, lounge, shed and motorbike, nothing. Regulus’s room, a flicker. The attic, a little more, but we can’t deny it, it was in Sirius’ old room that the readings went off the scale. I've only ever seen anything like this in full-scale hauntings, and that’s without counting the readings we’ve taken here that match with the ones taken at the veil itself.</p><p> </p><p>“I feel his presence in the bedroom,” Harry admitted. “All the time. It’s the place I go to write because I feel closest to him in there.”</p><p> </p><p>“I do too,” Hermione admitted as Harry looked up, “and I've never felt a single psychic connection in my whole life. I'm now convinced that it was him blocking me from reading your diary Harry, He was protecting you. There’s just no other logical explanation for it, no spells would act in the way that diary did, and you said there was no spell on it anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry shook his head in agreement. “Nothing on it at all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then there’s no other explanation,” Hermoine stated, feeling thoroughly shaken herself. “So what do we do then? Do we just try to bring him back in there?”</p><p> </p><p>“We still need to visit Azkaban and Hogwarts first,” Blaise said as Draco wrinkled his nose elegantly. “I know how you feel about Azkaban, mate, but we need to check it out,” Blaise said.</p><p> </p><p>“I honestly don't think he would come back to Azkaban,” Hermione said, “I mean, can you imagine how he must have felt about the place? He spent twelve years there, and most of that time was spent in dog form to avoid the effects of the dement-”</p><p> </p><p>“The fact that he was in there for so long is why I think we need to take basic readings from his old cell at least,” Blaise argued. “You're probably exactly right, but Azkaban has a strange energy, you know that, Draco, Harry, you’ve both been there. It’s to do with the dementors lowering the energy frequency of the environment.”</p><p> </p><p>“The dementors are long gone, though,” Hermione protested weakly. In truth, she didn't want to visit Azkaban any more than Draco did. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, but they left a permanent mark. If the energy field is lowered and the readings are strong, we might have an easier time pulling him back. We’ll probably draw a complete blank, but we need to check. The same goes for the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade and Hogwarts itself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why Hogwarts?” Harry asked, avoiding the suggestion of the Shrieking Shack entirely.</p><p> </p><p>“Because there’s a different energy in there as well,” Blaise said. “Hogwarts has a higher energy vibration due to the sheer amount of magical people in the area. It might help, it might not. Also, you’ve both told me that Sirius hated this house and his family here. What if we find a stronger imprint of his life force in the Gryffindor common room simply because he was happier there?”</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t argue with that logic,” Hermione said as Draco nodded, and eventually, Harry agreed as well. </p><p> </p><p>“So,” Blaise continued doggedly, I think we should go to Hogwarts and the shack tomorrow, then Azkaban on Wednesday, and spend Thursday and Friday in the office recording our findings and researching the spells we’ll need to try to bring him back to life. What do you all think?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think,” Harry said, standing up decisively, “That that’s an excellent plan indeed.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi..... and welcome to the next instalment of Bring me to Life, I hope people like it! :-)</p><p>Thank you times a million for the love we have gotten for this story so far, every kudos or comment makes us smile and me write faster because I'm inspired!</p><p>Thank you to my alpha/beta for your help.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione landed at Azkaban’s apparition spot and gasped as an enormous gust of wind almost blew her straight off of her feet.</p><p> </p><p>The grey triangular fortress of the prison split through the thunderous dark sky like a spear. The North Sea raged with a frenzy of violent waves and freezing cold spray, the wind howled, and the rain blew in horizontally across the hostile, rocky island. It seemed that the pictures Hermione had seen of Azkaban and the descriptions other people had given her had done nothing to prepare her for the real thing. </p><p> </p><p>The island itself was a desolate expanse of barren rocks, and its atmosphere was so foreboding that she instinctively reached out with both hands, groping blindly for the comfort of Harry and instead ending up with a handful of Draco’s Auror robes and Blaise’s winter coat.</p><p> </p><p>She stared up at the prison and gave a whole body shudder. Harry shifted beside her as she released Blaise and took the hand he offered instead. Harry pulled her forwards to follow the others away from a particularly large wave and its accompanying shower of spray before they ended up soaked from head to foot. </p><p> </p><p>Draco stumbled as he moved, looking just as affected as Hermione felt. He took her other hand and laced their fingers together as they all stared at the formidable building for a moment longer. “You alright, mate?” Blaise asked, and Draco sucked a pained breath in through his teeth. </p><p> </p><p>“Not really,” he admitted quietly. “Every time I think I’m over being affected by this place, I come back here, and it proves me wrong. I’ll be fine, I’ve done this before, and I imagine I’ll do it again. Come on then, let’s get today over and done with.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione took the rucksack with the undetectable extension charm off of her shoulders and put it on the ground to unpack before they reached the prison’s secrecy detectors. Draco had stared at her incredulously as she had packed everything they needed into the little bag, reminding her that using an illegal charm so close to the prison was asking for trouble. In the warm safety of Grimmauld Place, it had been easy to brush his fears aside. Now she didn’t want to take any chances with it at all.</p><p> </p><p>They had brought a minimal selection of recording equipment with them, handpicking the gauges and monitors that had proved to be the most useful at Grimmauld, and not bothering to bring anything that measured dark energy because they knew the background readings would be off the scale and therefore any data gathered from them would prove useless. The prisoners' magical signatures alone would send the dark magic detectors into meltdown mode, and that was without taking the residual darkness left from the long departed Dementors into account. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione winced as yet another wave crashed loudly onto the rocks behind them. Was it her imagination that made every gust of wind sound like a scream of desperation, or was it actually an inhabitant of the prison that was making the ghostly noises? “You do know who’s still imprisoned in here, right Granger?” Draco breathed as he picked up as many devices as he could comfortably carry. </p><p> </p><p>She nodded, they had gone over the prison’s floorplan early that morning, but she had mostly glossed over the names of the Death Eaters still housed within Azkaban’s walls.</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t help that the floor they needed to investigate held the prisoners that terrified her the most. Hermione had always avoided thinking too much about Sirius’ years in Azkaban. The mere thought of him spending so many years in the Godforsaken hellhole in front of her, particularly when Dementors still guarded it was just too awful for her to linger on for long.</p><p> </p><p>Since she had seen the prison’s historical floorplan that morning, though, Hermione had been unable to stop thinking about the time Sirius had served. She now knew that he had been housed at the very top of the prison, along with the most notorious and high profile murderers, and that his neighbors had included Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Barty Crouch Junior, Antonin Dolohov, Torquil Travers, and Hephaestus Mulciber. She shuddered, just imagining spending twelve years with only those people for company. </p><p> </p><p>The current inhabitants of the top floor appeared to be relatively unchanged from all those years ago. It seemed that many of the escaped Death Eaters had simply been returned to their former cells after their recapture, although Sirius’ old cell had a new inhabitant. According to the present day prison map, this was now Thoronus Nott, Theo’s father. </p><p> </p><p>Harry pushed the button on the keypad beside Azkaban’s cast iron front door, and a cool female voice asked for their identification badges and wands.</p><p> </p><p>Draco hesitated as he placed his into the metal chute and Harry closed his free hand on his arm to offer him support. Hermione smiled as Draco handed the things he was carrying to Blaise and put his own hand over Harry’s, squeezing his fingers gently and waiting patiently until he could collect his belongings once more. </p><p> </p><p>The atmosphere inside the prison was no less terrifying than the atmosphere outside. As Aurors, Harry and Darco didn't need a prison escort, they were allowed to roam freely in the prison as long as they respected its rules and checkpoints.</p><p> </p><p>Harry led the way to the lifts, and Hermione looked around curiously. The inside of the corridors was bare, grey stone, the whole place was dark and dimly lit with flaming torches, and it was barely any warmer inside than it was out. The inside walls and ceilings were damp with sea spray, and Hermione shivered. It was more than just the weather chilling her to the very bone in here. The whole building had evil and despair etched deeply into the very fabric of its being. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re shaking,” Blaise said, and she nodded, not even attempting to steady herself. Harry was gripping his wand tightly, and Draco was still holding his other hand, not looking at all his usual cool and confident self. </p><p> </p><p>“Hermione,” Draco said, pulling them all to a halt in an alcove carved into the freezing cold corridor, “I know I made a promise to you about not hiding my feelings or using Occlumency around you, but I'm going to have to use it in here. I can't not. It will affect me too deeply otherwise. You need to know that I’m not intentionally blocking you out. It’s this place and its effects that I want to minimize.” He waved an arm vaguely around at their surroundings, “it’s the memory of being in here myself that I struggle with the most. It’s a difficult place for me to come back to, I’m afraid.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded. She understood why Draco needed to protect himself in such a way, but that didn’t mean she liked it. “It’s okay, I understand.” She stretched up on tip-toe and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “Just let me in again afterward, please?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded. “I will. I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she whispered, kissing him again. “I don't like it here either. It’s creeping me out already, and I’ve not had the experience you’ve had. I can only imagine how you must feel. Do what you need to do, Draco, it’s okay.” He nodded, and she watched in fascination as his face blanked, his eyes cleared, and he gradually shrank back to the highly guarded boy that she had known in school. </p><p> </p><p>Trying not to feel too disconcerted by the abrupt change in Draco’s personality, Hermione shifted the monitor she was carrying and took the hand that Harry offered before following a newly confident Draco and Blaise along the corridor and into the lift. They rose smoothly and silently upwards for a full minute. When the doors opened at the very top floor, they stepped out into another identical grey and icy cold corridor and looked around.</p><p> </p><p>Cells lined both sides of the walkway, each one divided from its neighboring cells by a brick wall, solid save for a few inches of metal bars at the very top. The front of each cell was made of sturdy metal bars affording Hermione a clear view of each and every inmate. </p><p> </p><p>Draco sauntered off down the corridor with Blaise. Both of them walked easily, Blaise seemed unaffected by his surroundings, and Draco was now clearly blocking the horrors of his memory out with strong mind magic.</p><p> </p><p>Harry paused, waiting out of sight of the prisoners until Hermione was ready. She counted her breaths in and out, purposely breathing slowly, the way her mind healer had taught her. She’d thought she was ready, Merlin, she had tried her best to prepare herself for the people she was going to see, but her fragile resolve crumbled to dust the moment she saw several of the men who had tried to kill her in the past. “Keep breathing,” Harry whispered as a reedy male voice called his name. </p><p> </p><p>“Harry Potter!! What you doing up here, eh? Come for a little visit to us, have you? Decided it’s about time to come and play on the dark side, have you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Been there, done that Lestrange,” Draco said, running a finger menacingly down his wand as Harry ignored the bearded Death Eater. “Decided it was more fun to play on the side of the light. There’s more freedom that way, you see? Tsk,” he tutted as Rodolphus Lestrange swore at his deliberate taunt. “Behave yourself now, Uncle, or I’ll make you.”</p><p> </p><p>Rodolphus just threw his head back and laughed. Draco rolled his eyes and continued on down the line of cells. Harry went to tug Hermione forwards, but she couldn’t move. Her feet were rooted to the spot as she stared in horror at a pair of dark brown eyes that were staring just as intently back at her. The curve of the man’s lips was tiny, almost nonexistent, but it had done what he had intended it to do. She was frozen once more under his power, and he knew it. </p><p> </p><p>“Auror Malfoy,” Harry called in an authoritative tone. “We appear to have left something behind.” Harry propelled Hermione back into the lift as Draco and Blaise turned back. The lift doors closed behind them, and Hermione dropped to her knees in distress. Harry took one of her hands in his and motioned for Draco to take the other. He ran through her sensory checklist, and when she was grounded and feeling a little stronger, she stood back upright again.</p><p> </p><p>She squared her shoulders and popped a chewing gum into her mouth for something to focus on. She wrapped her identity badge cord around her wrist and twisted her fingers into it before picking up the monitor again. “Right. I’m good,” she said eventually. “Sorry about that, Dolohov threw me. I haven’t seen him since, well, since his trial, and every time I’d seen him before then, he was trying to kill me rather violently. Let’s go.” Draco nodded and led the way back out of the lift and down the prisoners’ corridor once more. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione focused on the taste of the mint in her mouth, and with every step she took, she twisted the cord on her wrist until it bit uncomfortably into her skin. She was aware that this was one of her less healthy coping mechanisms, but it grounded her and focused her mind, and so for now, it would have to do. </p><p> </p><p>She managed to ignore the delighted catcalls of the prisoners and the unnerving way that Dolohov just stared directly at her as he tracked her progress down the corridor.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, they reached the cell that was marked on the map as previously belonging to Sirius. Thoronus Nott had been moved somewhere else for the duration of their investigation. Still, Hermione was rather startled to see the prisoner next door, Travers, standing on something in his cell to peer at her through the bars at the top of his adjoining cell wall. He was using a similarly cold, unflinching stare to Dolohov’s, and Hermione shivered. This time she only faltered for a moment, though before she turned away and resumed setting up the magical signature detector. </p><p> </p><p>“Get down and stop staring at her, Travers,” Harry threatened, but Travers just laughed. “Unless you want to lose an eye, that is,” Harry added menacingly, and the old Death Eater stood down from his perch grumbling heatedly about overconfident Aurors who needed to watch their step.</p><p> </p><p>Sirius’ old cell was neat, clean, and tidy, but Hermione was shocked at how tiny it was. She paced, first one way and then the other while she waited for the readings to come in. She sighed, wondering not for the first time how Sirius had managed to keep his sanity living in such an inconceivable small space with such unpleasant neighbors for so long. </p><p> </p><p>She made to pull the door closed to check the readings in every corner, but she saw Draco tense, and Harry shake his head. She hastily pushed it wide open again, feeling aghast. “Sorry,” Draco muttered, his face still unnaturally blank, “I can’t, memories again, you know?” She nodded and joined Blaise in setting up the recording equipment on the other side of the open door, keen to get the information they wanted and then to get out of Azkaban as soon as they possibly could. </p><p> </p><p>Apart from the strangely low energy vibrations that Blaise assured them was present all over the prison island and was due to the historical presence of the Dementors, all of the readings they collected were normal.</p><p> </p><p>There was one corner of the cell that showed a slight glimmer of Sirius’s residual energy. Hermione checked the map and saw that this was where his bed would have been. They also picked up a very faint trace of his energy against the wall that adjoined Rabastan Lestrange’s cell, and Hermione wondered if the two men had grown to be something like companions. She couldn’t imagine them having much in common, but twelve years with nobody at all to talk to was unthinkable. Since Sirius’ alternative neighbor had been Barty Crouch Junior, who was as mad and fanatical a supporter of Voldemort as it was possible to be, she figured that Rabastan would be the lesser of the two evils for Sirius to befriend. </p><p> </p><p>It only took about twenty more minutes for them to finish measuring for readings in the cell and to pack their equipment away.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione had never been so keen to apparate away from somewhere in all of her life. As she spun on the spot in the gusting wind and incessant sea spray, her eyes caught a last glimpse of Azkaban’s imposing grey fortress, and she swore never to see the place in person again if she could help it. </p><p> </p><p>They landed in the relative warmth of London, at the apparition point of the Ministry, but Blaise took one look at Draco and shook his head. “Go home, mate,” he said kindly. “Take the afternoon off and recover. You know Azkaban takes it out of you, and there’s nothing here I desperately need you for. You too, Hermione, you looked uncomfortable as hell in there too. I’ll transcribe the readings and go home myself. We can carry on the investigation tomorrow. Oh, and come to Pansy’s for dinner tonight, it’s Tuesday, and apparently, that’s her new dinner party night. She’s cooking and, well, you all look like you all need cheering up a bit.”</p><p> </p><p>Touched by his kindness, Hermione rose up onto tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you,” she said, eyeing Draco with concern. His face was still pale and unnaturally blank, and his eyes were glazed over. He simply nodded his agreement, took Harry’s hand in one of his own and Hermione’s in the other, and she felt the pull of his side along apparition before she was ready. She focused her mind hard on staying beside him and not getting accidentally splinched and opened her eyes as they landed heavily in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. </p><p> </p><p>Draco pulled her into his arms and held on to her, nestling his face into her hair and breathing in her scent as if to calm himself as he leaned heavily against her. “Would you like to try using my checklist?” she asked, feeling him nod against her shoulder, and she talked him through it until they got to the taste section .</p><p> </p><p>“This is where you kiss me,” she whispered, and he did so, then pulled back, looking deeply into her eyes. She swore she saw his shields drop as he gazed at her. It was like watching walls tumble down, Draco’s pupils that had been constricted to mere pinpricks by his Occlumency suddenly widened, and his breathing shook as Hermione saw an internal war play out within the stormy grey of his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“You're safe with us,” she whispered as his pupils contracted again. “You can let your shield down here. You’re home.” He nodded and closed his eyes. “We’ll not hurt you Draco, you can be vulnerable here with us.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione closed her eyes and was shocked to be confronted with a sudden and robust image of Lucius Malfoy snarling furiously at his teenage son. “Malfoy’s do not show weakness, boy,” Lucius growled. “Now grow up and stop being so pathetic.”</p><p> </p><p>“Malfoy’s can show their emotions however they choose to Draco,” Hermione murmured fiercely, not having a clue what was going on. Draco was still looking at her with what appeared to be fear in his eyes. “As can everyone. It takes great strength to show vulnerability. It’s certainly not being weak to show fear.” She flinched as she caught another image of Lucius shouting and brandishing his cane, berating Draco for some other perceived personality flaw, and she reached out to brush his cheek gently with her hand.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s projective Legilimency,” Harry whispered and she nodded, finally understanding what was going on. “Assuming you’re seeing images from his memory, that is?” Hermione nodded, and Harry touched Draco's arm. “He does this when he’s unsettled. Draco, love, it’s Hermione and me here. Your father’s nowhere near us. He’s under house arrest still. You’re safe to let your shields fall. You're safe with us.” </p><p> </p><p>Draco gave a considerable shudder and jumped back from Hermione as if he’d been burnt. “Fuck!” He muttered, “sorry, love! You…. Jesus, you didn’t need to see that!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” Hermione said, feeling somewhat offended by his reaction, “It’s alright, I don’t know what happened but-”</p><p> </p><p>“My shields got stuck,” he confessed and grimaced. “If I pull them up that hard, so hard that they block <em> everything </em> else out, it’s hard to let them down again. What did you see?”</p><p> </p><p>“I saw your Father, telling you not to show weakness.”</p><p> </p><p>“Delightful man, isn’t he? I only get stuck like that if I’m around my father, if I go to Azkaban or try to say the Dark Lord’s name. Apparently, I still have a few demons left over from the war myself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, you’ll never be judged for them by us, the same way that neither you nor Harry have ever judged mine. And in answer to your question about your father? I never liked him very much either,” Hermione admitted, and Draco laughed, long and loud, and finally, the tension of the day was broken.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck!” Draco exclaimed again, running his fingers through his hair and accepting the glass of firewhisky Harry passed him. “Thanks.” He downed it in one with barely a flinch, and Harry poured him another without saying a word. “Fucking Azkaban, bloody Lucius, what a crappy, buggeringly shitty day!”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione laughed at his creative swearing and sagged down into a chair herself. She accepted a glass of firewhisky from Harry and sipped it, feeling the liquid burn in her mouth and throat as its familiar warmth grounded her further. “I’m not going to swear quite that much, but Dolohov creeped me out this afternoon. And Travers, what the hell was he standing on to stare at me over the cell wall like that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Merlin knows!” Draco shook his head. “Dolohov’s a creepy fucker at the best of times though, don’t let either of them get to you, love. Come on, Harry, let’s all go to bed. Hermione’s just told me it’s okay to be vulnerable with you both. Do you still want to have your wicked way with me?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione laughed at Harry’s astounded expression. His eyes bugged wide, and he cleared his throat, “uh…. Yeah, that would be…. Let’s just say yes to that offer, shall we?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Now’s your chance then. You too, Granger, let’s take all our minds off that Godforsaken bloody prison for a bit before we go to Pansy’s, shall we?”  </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everybody..... I hope everyone is well. Here is the next update on this story and it's another one that needs a smut warning..... Eeeeek!!! </p><p>Thank you all so much for the comments and kudos, it's so lovely to know that people are enjoying what we are working on. </p><p>Thank you to my alpha/beta for all of your help.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione stared at Draco in amusement as he crossed the room, took hold of a still rather dumbfounded looking Harry, and kissed him hard on the mouth. “Honestly, Potter,” he said with a smirk, “are you just going to stand there staring at me all afternoon?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, you are quite nice to look at, you know?” Harry replied with a grin.</p><p> </p><p>Draco laughed. “Yeah? Well, so are you. But much as I enjoy the sight of you in Auror robes, I like the sight of what’s underneath them even more.” </p><p> </p><p>“So do I,” Hermione said quietly. “The same goes for you too, Malfoy, I’d like to see you naked as well actually, because you’ve never let-” she broke off as she realized the significance of her words. </p><p> </p><p>Draco merely nodded once, crossed the room, scooped her up into his arms, and apparated them both upstairs to the bedroom. She landed with a squeal, pinned squarely underneath him on the bed, and opened her eyes just in time to see Harry apparate neatly in beside them. Draco leaned down, kissed her deeply, and then released her to settle himself down between them both. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione watched Draco appraisingly in the light of the sunny bedroom. The last time they had been in bed together, he had stopped her from taking his top off, and Harry had mentioned that Draco never let anyone see him topless at work either. She couldn’t help but wonder what his issues were and if he was willing to overcome them now. </p><p> </p><p>Harry appeared to be thinking along the same lines. He waved a hand to close the curtains, although their flimsy fabric did little to change the level of visibility in the room. Draco took a deep breath. “Trust, right?” he asked. </p><p> </p><p>Harry nodded, “yes, but trust can’t be forced, love, and it’s already been a difficult morning at the prison, so If you're not ready, then that’s fine. We’ll wait until you are.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco considered him for a moment before letting out a troubled sigh. “You must have found it difficult in Azkaban too, Harry. In fact, you’ve barely said a word about it all day. Are you even ready to see this? Especially today?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry nodded, “I’m fine,” he said rather sharply, ignoring Draco’s sceptical look, “and anyway, I’ve seen it once. It can’t be any worse than it was the day I put it there.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco grimaced. “It never healed as well as I’d have liked it to.” </p><p> </p><p>Harry closed his eyes, and Hermione suddenly understood their cryptic conversation. Draco was worried about them seeing his Sectumsempra scars. That was clearly the reason he was uncomfortable with people seeing his naked body. </p><p> </p><p>Keen to put him at ease she pushed up her sleeve and held her arm out for him to see. “We’ve all got scars, Draco, look,” she said gently, and he took her arm in his hands, studied the jagged, red-edged letters that marred her lightly tanned skin and pressed a gentle kiss to each one. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah yeah,” Harry said in a teasing voice, “if we’re comparing scars, then I think mine has the edge over both of yours…” he laughed as Draco let Hermione’s arm go and pushed Harry’s hair back from his forehead to reveal the infamous lightning bolt. </p><p> </p><p>Draco laughed, “it’s certainly the best known one. What happens if someone kisses it?” he asked speculatively.</p><p> </p><p>“To be honest, no one’s ever tried,” Harry said, and Hermione stifled her gasp of horror. The thought of a child growing up with no one to kiss his hurts and scars better was heartbreaking. Vernon and Petunia Dursely had an awful lot to answer for. </p><p> </p><p>To Hermione’s relief Draco looked shocked at Harry’s revelation too. Even if Lucius had been awful, it seemed that Narcissa had at least cared for her son while he was growing up. </p><p> </p><p>“Let’s rectify that then, shall we?” Draco asked, moving forwards slightly, and then pausing, suddenly looking unsure, “unless I’m going to cause you pain by touching it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would you cause me pain?” Harry asked with his brow furrowed. </p><p> </p><p>Draco mirrored his frown as though it were obvious. “You understand the curse that put that scar there, I’m sure. And it used to hurt whenever <em> he </em>got close to you?” Harry nodded, “and you’ve seen my magical signature on the dark detectors? I don’t want to hurt you-”</p><p> </p><p>Harry just laughed. “You’re hardly Voldemort, Draco. Now get your arse over here, take your bloody robes off and stop worrying.” Hermione couldn’t help but laugh at Draco’s affronted look and the way he rather sheepishly did as Harry asked. “That’s better. Now that wasn’t so….. hard, was it….. Christ, Malfoy, I knew you worked out but…. Merlin!” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione sucked in a shaky breath too. It wasn’t the sight of Draco’s scars that affected them both, and Draco would have known that, because the glamour he held tightly over his body made the marks appear almost invisible. Instead it was the lean and toned lines of his body, the ripple of well defined muscle, and the pure strength and power that radiated from him that had Hermione melting into the bed in anticipation. </p><p> </p><p>“Like what you see, do you Potter?” Draco asked, his confidence firmly back in place and apparently bolstered by Harry’s reaction. </p><p> </p><p>Harry nodded wordlessly as Draco straddled him on the bed, fully naked save for his underpants, and waved his arm to vanish Harry’s Auror robes. As Draco summoned his magical power for the vanishing spell, the glamour he held wavered fractionally, allowing Hermione to see hints of a long and rather jagged looking slash mark that crossed his chest and led across his abdomen and down to his hip. </p><p> </p><p>“I like what I see very much,” Harry answered, tugging him down for a kiss. Hermione gasped as she watched their mouths meet. She turned on her side to get a better view of her lovers and sighed as she watched Draco pepper Harry’s face with kisses, then finally pluck up the courage to push his hair back and press a gentle kiss to his lightning bolt scar. </p><p> </p><p>Harry merely hummed with pleasure as Draco ran his tongue experimentally over the jagged lines, and unfortunately, Hermione couldn’t smother her rather inappropriate giggle in time. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes?” Draco turned his head to regard her curiously, and she blushed. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, I’m sorry, but for some reason I’ve just remembered Lockhart’s dueling club way back in second year, and it amused me to think how much things have changed since those days.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry chuckled too, and Draco looked as if he was blushing. “I hope you know that was the sexiest damn thing I’d seen in my whole twelve years on the planet, Potter. The way you spoke to that snake mesmerized me.” </p><p> </p><p>Harry looked surprised. “Did it? Well, you fixing me in those grey eyes of yours, holding your wand in front of your face and giving me <em> that </em>look did it for me too, you know? I might have been twelve, but those words have stayed with me, believe me.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco raised his eyebrows and licked his lips, his face twisted into that familiar, infuriating smirk, and he said very deliberately, “Scared, Potter?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry growled as he pulled Draco back down and wrapped his legs around his hips, closing the distance between them as they lost themselves in each other once again. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione watched from the side, pressing her thighs together as arousal flooded through her. She jolted as she suddenly felt all of her own clothes disappear, and although she wasn’t sure which of them had cast the wandless spell, it was Draco’s hand that tugged her forwards, and joined her into their tangle of limbs.</p><p> </p><p>The passionate way Harry and Draco kissed affected her deeply, so much so that when Harry’s hands moved to her breasts she whimpered wantonly. Harry turned his head to the side and caught her mouth in a long, searing kiss, swallowing her moan as Draco also shifted over and began to kiss his way down her body. “What about you then, Granger? What did you think of us both at twelve years old? What were you thinking about while Harry was busy throwing snakes at me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Draco!” She gasped as he dipped his tongue lower, “I was honestly too scared….. oh….! that you were going to harm each other….. mmmm….! to be affected by it….. oh Gods….. don’t stop!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wasn’t planning to, sweetheart,” he paused, then began to lick and suckle at her clit, “not till you’ve fallen to pieces writhing on my tongue.” She whimpered as Harry quirked an amused eyebrow at her. He propped himself up on one arm as Draco took his hand and guided his fingers down to where his mouth was working.</p><p> </p><p>“Ohhhhh!” Hermione moaned loudly as Harry pressed two fingers inside of her and started to work them in perfect harmony with Draco’s skilled mouth. She was almost embarrassed at how quickly she orgasmed. It built from nowhere and crashed through her, each white hot wave coaxed higher by Harry looking as if he wanted to devour her, and Draco’s sinful tongue bringing her off just the way he’d promised. </p><p> </p><p>Harry gently withdrew his fingers when she had calmed, and Draco moved back up the bed, wiping a hand over his mouth before kissing her languidly. “How about it then, Harry?” he raised a brow. “Which way round do you want to do this?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry took a deep breath and let it out on a whoosh. It took him a moment to answer. “I want you to fuck me. It’s all I’ve been able to think about, and I think it’s the way you’d prefer things too.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco nodded his confirmation, “It is. You're perfect for me, Harry. In fact, both of you are perfect in my eyes.” </p><p> </p><p>Harry just grinned. “You’re both pretty damned perfect in my eyes too.” He glanced down at Draco’s body and paused. “Will you drop the glamour, please love? There’s no need to hold it unless you're truly not comfortable without it, I promise.” Hermione watched closely as Draco stared deeply into Harry’s eyes. Grey pupils bored into green, and Harry didn’t back down in the slightest. “You can check in my mind if you want confirmation, but you won’t find anything in there that disagrees with what I’m telling you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t need to look,” Draco said, as his gaze softened significantly. “I just sometimes need to remind myself how honest and open you two are.” </p><p> </p><p>After a moment, he turned to Hermione, took her hand in his, closed his eyes, and let his carefully held glamour fall. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione forced herself to regulate her breathing as the scars emerged, and she was glad that she’d had an earlier glimpse of how they looked. There was one large, jagged main scar, with a number of smaller marks surrounding it, and Draco was right. It hadn’t been healed particularly well. It was ridged and bumpy, red in places and white in others. She looked up and saw that Draco still had his eyes closed and his head bowed, and she nudged him while giving a small sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s alright,” she said, moving towards him and kicking Harry, who was staring  at him wordlessly as well. </p><p> </p><p>“You know I’m sorry about this, don’t you?” Harry asked, and Draco nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I know. You’ve already said, you don’t need to say it again.” Draco lifted his head and smiled when he understood that neither of them were pulling away from him because of his appearance. “Now, that’s enough apologies from you, Potter, and I promise to stop fretting over it too. Snape’s inexpert healing made it bunch up like it has. He always was shite at healing spells, so you can’t take full credit for the whole mess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Only half, huh?” Harry asked with a guilt ridden smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Three quarters more like,” Draco teased, and Hermione watched his confidence return again as Harry glanced up at him. “Anyway, it’s not all bad. The fact that you could produce a dark spell with this much power just added to my attraction to you at the time. Once I’d calmed down and recovered from the associated blood loss, that is.” Draco smirked at the shocked reaction his words caused in Harry. “You do know that if you cast that spell at me now, it probably wouldn’t do so much damage?” </p><p> </p><p>“No,” Harry said, while Hermione frowned in confusion, “why not?” </p><p> </p><p>Draco shrugged, reaching between their bodies and stroking Harry’s chest reassuringly. “I’ve told you before, spells are only as powerful as the intention with which they are cast. No spell is inherently dark. A person’s magical core affects things as well, you had part of Vol- oh, for fucks sake,” he winced and screwed his eyes shut, “-<em> his </em> soul inside you when you hit me with this, didn’t you? You were a Horcrux back then. You’re not one now, and your magical core lightened significantly when you got rid of your little <em> unwanted addition</em>. As I say, if you cast Sectumsempra at me now, I’m fairly sure it would cause less damage.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve never thought about it like that,” Harry said. “I’m assuming you're being truthful and not just trying to cheer me up? If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not try it again, though. So there’s no hard feelings about it between us?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve got plenty of hard feelings, Potter, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.” Draco grinned cheekily as he rocked his hips to nudge Harry with his erection. "In fact, you can start making things up to me right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmmm,” Harry agreed. “I think I might just do that. How’s this for a start?” Hermione watched him slide Draco’s underpants down his legs, toe them gently off his ankles and drop them to the floor, before reaching up to take Draco’s hard length in his hand. </p><p> </p><p>As Harry started to move, Draco kissed him hard, threaded his fingers through his unruly hair, and pulled him closer. Harry gasped as Draco flipped them over, clearly using some kind of magic to move them into position, and Harry found himself pinned underneath Draco in the same way that Hermione had been earlier. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s better,” Draco said, as he bent down and kissed Harry again, taking control in a familiar way that obviously pleased them both. Harry exhaled as his boxers vanished, leaving both men naked against each other. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione slipped a hand down to rub circles around her clit, desperately needing to relieve the dull ache that was building within her again. Draco ran his hands all over Harry’s body, and Harry shivered in response. It was clear who was the naturally dominant one of the pair, and it was just as clear that Harry was thrilled to surrender to Draco’s ministrations. </p><p> </p><p>Harry held out his hand as he muttered a spell. The bedside drawer shot open, and a small tube whizzed across the bed, landing in his hand. He passed it to Draco, who popped the cap off then squeezed some of the clear gel into his palm. “Ready?” he asked. </p><p> </p><p>Harry just groaned in reply, “I’ve been ready for you for the last ten years. I just didn’t know it until fairly recently.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco smiled as he reached down, and Hermione wondered if she should give them some privacy. She reluctantly moved back slightly but stopped as Harry reached out for her. “Do you want to be alone for your first time together?” she asked breathlessly.</p><p> </p><p>“Nope,” Draco said, leaning down to kiss Harry again, “It makes it so much better when you're here with us. Give me your hand.” She did as he asked and whimpered as Draco closed her fingers around Harry's cock. Draco watched her through half closed eyes as she swept her hand up and down Harry’s hot, silken skin. </p><p> </p><p>Harry’s hips bucked as Draco gently pressed first one and then two slick fingers inside of him. Draco moved gently, leaning down to kiss Harry softly as he used his fingers to wind the dark haired man’s arousal even higher, and to prepare him for more. “Are you alright there, love?” he asked. </p><p> </p><p>Harry keened in reply, then nodded as Draco gradually withdrew his fingers and turned to Hermione, “and how about you?” wordlessly, she nodded. She’d known about Harry’s feelings for Draco for some time now, and Draco had told her how he felt in return, but this was the first time she had truly seen what they meant to each other. It was hot, it was arousing, it was all encompassing, and it was possible the sweetest thing she had ever seen. </p><p> </p><p>Harry adjusted himself on the bed, watching Draco gaze reverently into his eyes as he took himself in hand, lined himself up, then nudged gently against Harry’s entrance. Harry’s eyes closed as the very tip of Draco breached his tight ring of muscle, and Draco paused. Harry reached for Hermione’s hand, she clasped her fingers around his, watching as Draco slid deeper inside of Harry making him sigh. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione recognized Harry’s response as a sigh of pleasure, but Draco paused as if he wasn’t so sure. “You okay?” He asked again, waiting until Harry nodded before he moved forwards again, careful to give him time to adjust to the feeling of fullness.</p><p> </p><p>Draco reached out for Hermione as well and she took his hand in her spare one, touched that they both wanted to include her in this most intimate of moments. </p><p> </p><p>Harry whimpered as Draco picked up his pace, and Hermione clamped her thighs tighter together in response. The noises Harry was making caused both men to build quickly towards their climax. Draco was thrusting gently but deeply into Harry, and Harry was meeting him, bucking his hips into Draco to give him better access. “Oh!” Harry gasped as Draco took his hand back from Hermione, using it instead to cup Harry’s cock. He pumped in time with the rhythm of their bodies as Harry started to lose control. “Oh Gods, please Draco, now!!” he cried out, coming with a shudder into Draco’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>That was the point that Draco lost it himself. Hermione rubbed her clit frantically as Draco reached his own release. He gave a throaty moan, collapsed forwards and buried his face in Harry’s shoulder as Hermione’s own orgasm tore through her while she watched them both in rapt amazement.</p><p> </p><p>Harry’s vice-like grip on her hand loosened as he regained his senses and smiled up at her. She returned his dazed look, she had never watched anyone have sex before this, and she had been totally enthralled by what she had seen. </p><p> </p><p>She watched the two boys, her two boys, fondly as Draco gathered his wits and propped himself up on his arms before leaning down to kiss a rather stunned looking Harry. “You alright, babes?” Draco asked, cupping Harry’s face softly in his clean hand. </p><p> </p><p>Harry nodded. “Mmhmm. It’s your turn next, Hermione,” he said sleepily. Hermione giggled softly as Draco cast a cleaning spell over them all. Harry turned over, reaching back for Hermione’s hand, and they all settled down for a nap before it was time to get ready to go to Pansy and Neville’s for dinner.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Wow, Pansy, this looks delicious!” Hermione said several hours later, eyeing the dining table that was groaning under the weight of a vast array of wonderful looking dishes of food. </p><p> </p><p>Neville just grinned, “Isn’t she amazing?” he asked, staring affectionately at Pansy as she tucked a strand of sleek black hair into place and smiled dazzlingly as he leaned down to kiss her. </p><p> </p><p>Theo nodded with a grin. “I’ve always thought so…. Look, Daph, this is the kind of cooking that a proper girlfriend does. Look at the- ouch! What was that for?”</p><p> </p><p>Theo ducked, and Hermione laughed as both Daphne and Pansy hit him with minor stinging hexes. </p><p> </p><p>“Is it now?” Daphne asked innocently. “Would you care to elaborate, Theodore, on what else a proper girlfriend should do?” Daphne’s eyes were twinkling as Theo grinned. </p><p> </p><p>“A proper girlfriend should always behave exactly like you do, darling,” he deadpanned while attempting to rub some ingrained paint out of the skin on the back of his hand.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s better.” Pansy grinned as Theo laughed. “What happened to Tracy tonight then, B?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise looked shiftily down at his feet for a moment. “She uh, she got rather cross with me this afternoon actually, she said she couldn’t make it tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>“What did you do this time?” Theo asked with a wince as the stinging hexes wore off.</p><p> </p><p>Blaise sighed, “there was a…. Okay, so she might have found something on my phone that she didn’t like. I always said mobile phones were the devil's gadgets, didn’t I?”</p><p> </p><p>“You did, mate, yes,” Theo said, putting a consoling hand on his shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>“Who did you cheat on her with this time, Zabini?” Draco asked, fixing him with steely grey eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Merlin! Who says I cheated?!” Nobody said anything more as Pansy started to hand out serving spoons. Still, Theo, Daphne, Pansy, Neville, Draco, and even Harry’s raised eyebrows told the story without words. “All right, all right! She found some rather incriminating texts that were dated from this previous weekend.”</p><p> </p><p>Pansy shook her head with a sigh. “Who were these ones from, Blaise?” Theo asked, trying to hide his amusement, “and when will you learn? I’ve shown you that little button that deletes things that others shouldn’t see. Three times I’ve shown it to you!” </p><p> </p><p>Blaise glanced for some reason at Hermione, and she froze as everyone’s eyes swiveled to her in confusion. “Well, the texts weren’t from me!” she exclaimed indignantly, and Blaise laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“No, love they were,” Blaise paused again, “they were, uh, from Ginny Weasley. She said to tell you she says hi, and that she hopes you're okay. You too, Harry, actually.”</p><p> </p><p>The stunned silence around the table was broken by Theo, who was still trying and failing to hide his laughter. “You and that little minx are destined to be together, you know? How many times has it been over the years now?”</p><p> </p><p>“He's been with Ginny almost as many times as he’s been with Tracy,” Pansy said accusingly. “Ginny dumped you last year because you slept with Tracy. This is just the other way around-”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m telling you, you need to try it with both of them,” Draco said, smiling at Hermione across the table as she tipped a spoonful of dressing over her salad, “It’s amazing.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise just shivered in apparent horror. “No, thank you! Two women to nag me and keep tabs on me? Gods, one is bad enough!”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, a triad is perfect for me.” Draco grinned, “personally, I think you’re all missing out. You alright?” Draco whispered, turning back to Hermione, “you’ve gone rather pale.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Ginny,” she admitted, “She used to be my best friend, but again, I’ve let that slip badly over the last couple of years, hence why I know nothing about any of this, I miss her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Text her then,” Draco suggested, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. “Apparently, she’s quite good with a mobile phone.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione considered his words for a moment, waiting for the worry and anxiety that usually came when she considered meeting up with her old friends to kick in, but it just didn't materialize this time. “I think I will. Later on, when we get home this evening.”</p><p> </p><p>“Say hi from me, will you?” Harry had caught their exchange. “She cut me off dead when Blaise cheated on her the last time, she accused me of siding with him! As if I’d condone cheating on anyone, especially her-” He shot an aggrieved look at Blaise, who rolled his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Draco sighed and massaged his temple for a moment. “You do know she’s cheated on Blaise plenty of times herself in the past, don't you?”</p><p> </p><p>“No!” Harry and Hermione both said together in surprise, and Draco gave an amused nod. “Oh yes. He’s cheated on her a few times, she cheated on him more than once. They are both as bad as each other. And Tracy knows what Blaise is like, she’ll hardly be surprised that he can’t keep it in his pants, but she won’t hex his bollocks off completely because she knows full well she’ll be back, and that she’ll need them again in the future.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right.” Hermione blinked at this rather surprising news then turned her attention back to the beautiful meal that Pansy had cooked and the conversation that was going on around her. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy rather belated Valentine's day to everyone!! Thank you so much for the kudos and comments we have received on this story so far, it's so lovely to know that people are enjoying it. </p><p>I've finally managed to settle on there being 14 chapters to this story, and I'm just about on track to finish it in time!! </p><p>I don't think we need any trigger warnings on this chapter, but there is a diary entry from Harry that deals with his thoughts and feelings about visiting Azkaban, so if you are sensitive to anything like that just skip that part, or read it with caution!</p><p>Thank you so much to my alpha and beta for all of your help. </p><p>Much love, see you next Sunday! XXxx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was proving much easier to get the energy readings from the Shrieking Shack and Hogwarts than it had been to get the ones from Azkaban. Hermione smiled as she stepped through the familiar portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room. The Fat Lady greeted her and Harry as old friends, even as she glared suspiciously at Draco and Blaise. She said nothing unfriendly, but her message was clear. Former Slytherins were still unwelcome in Gryffindor Tower.</p><p> </p><p>Harry laughed as Draco poked his tongue out at the still closing door. “I can still see you, you know?” the Fat Lady called crossly. </p><p> </p><p>Draco sighed. “Even the bloody portraits are prejudiced against us in this castle. Still!” he added with an annoyed roll of his eyes.    </p><p> </p><p>Despite the Fat Lady’s rudeness, entering the common room felt like coming home. Everything looked identical to the way it had when they were students. The fire crackled reassuringly in the hearth. The comfortable, squashy sofas were arranged in the way they always had been. Even the various study tables and chairs remained unchanged. It felt like stepping back in time. </p><p> </p><p>Without thinking, Hermione led the way to their old favorite table. Harry followed silently behind, and they set their equipment down as if it were still the most natural thing in the world.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione looked up, and for a split second she expected to see Ron helping them as well, but of course, he wasn’t there, and his current absence from her life hit her painfully hard. She felt his absence acutely as she looked across the room and imagined him playing wizard’s chess with Seamus or chatting idly with Neville while attempting to avoid the homework that she was encouraging him to start. </p><p> </p><p>The feeling of missing him was intense. She resolved to text him later that day. His absence from her life was just too painful to ignore any longer. She had successfully texted Ginny the previous evening, and both girls had sat up for half the night messaging each other. Bolstered by that success, she was sure she could do something similar with Ron.</p><p> </p><p>She yawned. On reflection, carrying on their typed conversation until half-past two in the morning on a workday hadn’t been the best idea, but neither she nor Ginny had wanted to break off their long overdue reunion. </p><p> </p><p>The feeling of belonging in Gryffindor Tower yet no longer having a place in Hogwarts was disconcerting. Hermione left the table, crossed the room to the window, and peered out into the grounds. Hagrid’s hut had been burnt down during the battle and then rebuilt before she had returned for her eighth year. The new version had never looked quite the same as the original, but the rest of the grounds were so achingly familiar that she could just imagine putting her things down after a long day of studying and running across the lawn to visit Hagrid for tea, as she had when she was eleven years old. </p><p> </p><p>Her eyes swept over the greenhouses. She could just about make out what had to be Neville teaching a class in greenhouse number three, and she smiled, reassured by his familiar presence.</p><p> </p><p>The quidditch pitch looked fractionally different too. She smiled, remembering long afternoons spent in the stands cheering Harry and Ron on. She could almost feel the energy of the crowd, and the familiar knot of worry in her stomach returned, as did her ongoing concern that something was going to happen to one of them while they dived through the air at death defying speeds.</p><p> </p><p>She turned from the window, gazing slowly around the room as memory after memory assaulted her senses. She knew that she was slowly getting better and recovering somewhat from her PTSD, just a few short weeks ago, the memories the common room was bringing back would have triggered a full-scale panic attack. Right now, though, she felt uncomfortable but no longer in danger of losing control. </p><p> </p><p>She forced herself to breathe slowly, in through her mouth and out through her nose, calming herself for the first time without the need for her sensory checklist. Draco was looking at her strangely as he set the magical signature detector up. “Are you okay?” he asked, watching her sniff as she wiped her eyes discreetly. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, thank you. It’s just, well-” she gestured around the room, “it’s home, isn't it? This place. I’ve missed it.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco licked his lips. When she looked closer, she could see the telltale hint of his Occlumency guard in his eyes, and she frowned, understanding that it must be uncomfortable for him to be in here too. “It’s not home for us, not up here anyway. I think we’d have been even less welcome up here a few years back than we are today. I understand what you mean, though.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, crossing the room to reach him with a sad smile. He took her into his arms, and she watched his guard fall away as he settled into her embrace. She was surprised at how often that happened. He seemed to hold his shield up as an unconscious act of self preservation and only truly let it down when she or Harry were close. She said nothing as she pressed her lips to his, hoping to reassure him physically as well as with her words. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ve never been in here before. It’s, umm, very….. red, isn’t it?” Blaise asked, looking away from their tender kiss and around the circular room.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, yes!” Harry laughed, “that is rather the point. Red and Gold, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s enough to give you a headache, is what it is!” Blaise muttered, pushing his glasses up onto his head and massaging his temple. “Come on, let’s get this done, then I'll show you a proper common room.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve seen your common room. I remember being equally perturbed by the dim green lighting in there,” Harry said, absently squinting at a spiritometer. “Nothing is showing on here, by the way. Not even a glimmer.”</p><p> </p><p>“You were right about the magical frequency, though.” Hermione swept her hair back from her face as she pulled back to peer at the gauge in Draco’s hand. She held her breath, waiting for someone to pick up on what Harry had just let slip. “It’s much higher in the castle than anywhere else we’ve measured to date.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s because there are so many magical people in such a small space.” Draco turned to frown at Harry. “When have you seen our old common room then?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry chuckled. “It was during second year. It involves the infamous polyjuice cat incident-”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” Draco held up a hand, “yes. A story we all need to hear. Let’s take readings in the bedrooms while you tell it. It might take my mind off the vertigo this crazy tower induces.” </p><p> </p><p>There were no readings worth noting in the bedroom however, and they soon packed up the gauges and monitors ready to return to the Ministry and record their findings. By the time they came back down the spiral staircase, they were all giggling, their earlier tension broken. Even Hermione was now able to see the funny side of accidentally polyjucing into a cat.</p><p> </p><p>“Just a minute.” Draco held a hand out and looked up at Blaise with a smirk. “As we’re here and you’re both in a good mood, there’s something I need to do.” Hermione sank her teeth into her bottom lip as she caught the rapidly darkening look in his eyes. “When we were students, there was a long standing challenge in our dorms, wasn't there, Blaise?</p><p> </p><p>“There was,“ Blaise confirmed. “Nobody ever won it, though.” The way Draco was looking at her was mesmerizing. His eyes darkened further as Blaise laughed and turned away. “You're risking a hexing here though Malfoy, I know things have changed, but still. This is risky, and you never did know what was good for you.”</p><p> </p><p>“A little faith, Zabini? She wouldn't hex me. Hopefully not these days anyhow.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would I potentially be hexing you, Draco?” Hermione asked, fixing him with a steely eye. “What was this long standing challenge?”</p><p> </p><p>“That if any one of us got to snog Gryffindor’s Princess in the tower itself, we would win the silver galleon for an entire month.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise closed his eyes and sighed as Hermione’s hair visibly frizzed, sparking with magical power. “Nice one, mate. Now you need to explain what the silver galleon is.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I think you do.” Hermione fixed both Draco and Blaise with a piercing stare as Harry laughed. “And then you can explain why I was the subject of such a challenge in the first place.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco looked as if he was weighing up his options. “Kiss me first.”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” Harry was still eyeing the pair of them with amusement as Blaise stepped smartly out of hexing range.</p><p> </p><p>“Kiss, then I’ll consider telling.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise leaned against the doorframe, watching them with a smirk. “I’ll happily explain if one of you kisses me. Plus, I'll get to retain the galleon. I am reigning champion after all- Ouch! For fucks sake, Draco!”</p><p> </p><p>Draco rolled his eyes as Blaise shook the stinging hex out of his arm. “You won the galleon most weeks because you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself, and nothing’s changed even now.” Draco laughed as he turned back to Hermione and a rather bemused looking Harry. “The silver galleon was something we circulated between ourselves as a prize. Whoever got up to the most daring adventures with their girlfriend, or boyfriend, won the galleon for that week. It was very competitive, and you, Hermione, were highly converted. If any of us got to snog you, it would have been an automatic win. And if we snogged you up here, it was a win for the entire month.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione’s mouth dropped open in surprise. She was torn between being flattered and outraged. “I’d take it as a compliment, Hermione,” Blaise said. “You had five boys and a girl secretly falling over themselves to get off with you. None of us ever managed it, I might add.”</p><p> </p><p>“Until now, of course.” Hermione eyed the genuine affection on Draco’s face and found that she couldn’t be cross with him. “May I?” he asked, and she laughed as she nodded. </p><p> </p><p>“You may. Who was the girl that wanted to snog me?” </p><p> </p><p>“Daphne Greengrass,“ Draco said as he took her into his arms. His kiss was gentle, and she melted into his embrace as they stood in front of the roaring fire. </p><p> </p><p>“Did uh, did this bet only extend to Hermione, or were there other Gryffindors being coveted as well?” Harry asked rather hopefully. </p><p> </p><p>Draco laughed. “Most of the girls had the same challenge open for you, Harry. In my eyes, you were both top of the list. Sweet Salazar, can you imagine the scandal we could have caused, you and me getting off up here?” He broke off as Harry chucked, “come here, Golden Boy, I know you like courting controversy still.” </p><p> </p><p>Harry reached him in two steps, and Draco swept him up into his arms as he had Hermione a few moments prior. Hermione’s jaw dropped as she watched Blaise leaning against the wall and casually flipping a large silver coin in his hand. “Is this it then?” she asked, moving closer to look. Blaise held the enormous silver coin out for her to see, then flicked it through the air to Draco, who caught it one handed as he released Harry’s lips, pushed his hair back and pressed his lips to his scar instead. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, that was won fair and square, I feel, Draco. It’s yours now. I officially surrender my status. Theo will shake your hand on that one, too, I’m sure.”</p><p> </p><p>“Cheers, Zabini.” Draco pocketed the coin with a smug look, picked up the remaining energy monitors, and followed the others out of the tower. </p><p> </p><p>“I saw that you know!” the Fat Lady called after them, “Kissing in the common room! I don’t know what you were thinking, but you can't just get away wi-” whatever they couldn't get away with though, they would never know. Hermione squealed as Harry shot the Fat Lady with a silencing spell, and they walked away down the corridor giggling. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“I still can’t believe Harry silenced the Fat Lady!” Hermione said to Blaise as they made their way out of the office at hometime later that day. </p><p> </p><p>“Was she always that rude?” Blaise asked, locking and warding their office door.</p><p> </p><p>“She wasn’t ever particularly polite, but that was a step up in rudeness, even for her,” Hermione admitted, following him down the corridor and into the Room of Spinning Doors.</p><p> </p><p>“See, there’s something to be said for tapping an expanse of stone wall and muttering a password, isn’t there?”</p><p> </p><p>“I suppose so.” On their way out of Hogwarts, they had stopped off at the Slytherin common room, and Draco and Blasie had shown them inside. At first, Hermione had frowned at the dark stone interior and the dim lighting, then Draco had led her to the enormous picture windows and shown her the fish dancing in the filtered sunlight of the Black Lake. They had watched, mesmerized as a school of Grindylow had passed by, and then finally, they had caught a glimpse of the giant squid. </p><p> </p><p>It had been warmer in the dungeons than she had imagined it would be too, and as they turned to leave, she had glanced back at the low room and the thousands of candles that lit its dark corners, and she’d had to agree that it held a certain peaceful sort of charm. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione shook herself back to the present day as they stepped through the outer door of the Department of Mysteries, rounded the corner, and bumped physically into another person. </p><p> </p><p>“Ginevra!” Blaise said, steadying Ginny as she stumbled. Hermione took a step back in shock as Ginny’s waist length, brilliant red hair flashed like flames. “How nice to see you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” Ginny said as she regained her footing and a waft of her light floral perfume washed over Hermione. It was the perfume Ginny had always worn, gardenias with a hint of vanilla if Hermione remembered correctly, and it took her straight back into memories for the second time that day. “Mione!” Ginny’s face split into a massive grin as she reached out to hug her hard. “I’m so glad we caught up last night. You look amazing!” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She nodded instead as Ginny looked at her rather strangely for a moment. “Were you coming to see us?” Blaise asked, seeing Hermione’s discomfort and trying to ease the awkward moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I needed to re-register my Quidditch license, and I thought I'd stop by while I was here. How’s your day been?”</p><p> </p><p>“Good, but it’s even better now that you're in it,” Blaise said smoothly, making Ginny smile. “Would you care to join us for a drink? We were going to stop by the Leaky Cauldron on our way home.”</p><p> </p><p>Ginny batted her eyelashes at him speculatively, and Hermione tried to smother her amusement. This was the first she had heard of any such plans. “I suppose I could spare an hour or so,” Ginny said, giving Blaise the same look that Hermione had seen her give Harry, Dean Thomas, and Neville on so many occasions in the past. In Hermione’s experience, Ginny never failed to get her man, and she smiled, realizing that Blaise also never failed to get his woman.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione couldn’t help but feel that they had both met their match in each other. Maybe that was why they seemed to be so drawn together.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione caught the wink and the silent invitation Blaise threw her as Ginny looked away. “Okay,” she whispered as they stepped into the lift. “You are definitely single, though? And Tracy knows?” Blaise just nodded once, put a finger to his lips, cast his silver puma patronus into the lift, spoke to it in Italian, and watched it race away. </p><p> </p><p>Ginny looked mildly impressed with his magic as the doors closed silently behind them, and they rode the busy lift to the atrium.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione took her jacket off as they walked outside into the brilliant spring sunshine. She tipped her face up to the sun and sighed happily, relishing the lighter evenings. They walked to the apparition point, chatting happily, and Blaise took hold of both of their arms, spun them on the spot, and the next thing Hermione knew, she was blinking in the dim light of the Leaky Cauldron. </p><p> </p><p>Hannah Abbott smiled from behind the bar as they approached, and Hermione waved happily as Blaise ordered their drinks. Hermione looked up as a shout of laughter echoed across the busy pub. “Oh, for goodness sake!” Ginny grumbled, seeing Ron head in their direction, flanked as he usually was these days by Dean and Seamus. </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Three hours later and Hermione was feeling rather tipsy. She laughed as she stumbled, and Seamus steadied her. Clearly drinking so much wine on an empty stomach hadn’t been a great idea. Blaise and Ginny had left earlier in the evening to go to dinner, and Hermione had stayed in the pub, falling back into Ron’s easy company as if they had never been apart. </p><p> </p><p>It was just after ten when they were finally ready to apparate back to Grimmauld Place. She and Ron had grabbed a takeaway kebab on their way back through Diagon Alley and had sat on a low wall eating it and catching up some more as the very last of the extra evening light faded from the sky. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione had told Harry and Draco where she was. Blaise’s cryptic patronus message had apparently informed Draco that he was borrowing Hermione for an hour, but she had followed it up with a phone call to them both regardless. Harry had told her to have a lovely evening while claiming to be too tired to join them after his weekly Quidditch training, and Draco had promised instant death on anyone who dared to try their luck with her while she was out without him.  </p><p> </p><p>The wards of Grimmauld Place recognized her as they arrived, and as the houses on either side drew back, Hermione was surprised to see that number twelve was shrouded in complete darkness. Suddenly fearing that something was amiss, she clutched Ron’s arm for support, and he peered back at her in slightly drunken alarm. </p><p> </p><p>Thanks to the randomly punctuated text message she had received, she knew that Draco had gone on to the gym after Quidditch, while Harry had apparently gone home for an early night. She inhaled slowly in concern, even if Harry was tired he never went to bed this early, and in any case he would have left a light on for her somewhere in the house. </p><p> </p><p>She pressed her wand to the door, and Ron slipped inside first, tucking her protectively behind him. “Harry?” he called as they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. There was no reply and no sign of life anywhere. Ron flicked his wand at the lights, and Hermione blinked as their golden glow bathed the room in artificial light. Ron left her where she was, intent on checking the rest of the house, and Hermione gasped as she caught sight of Harry’s notebook laying open on the table. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh Gods!” she whispered as she picked it up,</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Wednesday.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Dear Hermione and Draco.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I suppose I should talk to you both rather than writing things down like this. I did promise to do that after all. Still, that’s easier said than done. I'll take the cop out route as usual tonight. I doubt either of you will be surprised. </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> Azkaban was shit. I hated EVERY moment of being on that Godforsaken bloody island. I don't know how the HELL Sirius coped with being in there for so long. Very rarely in my life have I wanted to hurt people, but Hermione, I could have fucking well Avada’d Travers for the way he was leering over that wall at you. Dolohov too. I think I could have just </em> <em> KILLED THEM because at that moment I WANTED to hurt them, just like THEY HURT US. I WANTED TO MAKE THEM PAY FOR WHAT THEY TOOK FROM US!!! </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> What’s wrong with me, Hermione? Why do I get so angry? I’m worried that one day I’ll snap. What if I had? What if I’d done it? I nearly gave you my wand when we were in there because I didn’t trust myself with it. I’m an Auror, for fuck’s sake. I’m supposed to have more control than this. Draco has more control than I do. Sometimes I feel like I’m terrible at my job. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I can’t sit still tonight. I NEED to do something. I floo’d into the Leaky after training and saw you with Ron. I floo’d back away again before you saw me. I’m glad you and he are friends again, honestly. But he had his arm around your shoulders, and it brought all of that back too. Long nights in the tent, listening to the pair of you even though I tried not to. Before he left, I mean, I know we did the same thing afterward, but if you had any idea how jealous I was of him back then…..Anyway, I won't go there with that one tonight, you and he are entitled to a friendship, and I refuse to infringe on that. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> It was difficult at Hogwarts today too. So much has changed, and yet….. I don't really know what I'm trying to say here, and I'm probably drinking too much right now to write anything sensible. I’m going out. If I’m not back at a reasonable time, tell Malfoy. He’ll know where to find me.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> P.s. I love you. Both of you.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> P.p.s. I’m sorry, I’m a mess. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Love H </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Ron!!” Hermione yelled with a screech worthy of Pansy, “we need to find him. NOW!!”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Look, seriously, I understand you're worried about him, but what on earth do you think he’s going to do?” Theo asked, scratching his head and yawning as they stood on the street corner. “This is Harry Potter, after all-”</p><p> </p><p>“Exactly!” the worry in Neville’s voice was palpable. “You have no idea how that boy attracts trouble. He’s like a bloody magnet for it. It follows him around! You were right to call us when you couldn’t reach Draco, ‘Mione.”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright!” Theo said, yawning again as Daphne took his hand. “Let's split up then. Oh hell, look out!”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione spun around as Draco materialized beside them, looking more furious than Hermione had ever seen him. “Why the fuck didn’t one of you call me earlier?!” He demanded, yanking the diary out of Hermione’s hand and glaring at it ferociously.</p><p> </p><p>“Oi!” Pansy poked Draco in the chest with her index finger making him back up out of a bemused looking Neville’s personal space. “Back it up you! We did call you. It’s not our fault you were in a muggle gym and therefore couldn’t be contacted magically!”</p><p> </p><p>Draco just scowled at her, standing furiously in front of an amused looking Neville, and he sighed but didn't argue. “Where's Blaise?”</p><p> </p><p>“Having dinner with Ginny,” Hermione said as Draco scanned the diary entry and fixed Ron with the full force of his fury. “Weasley, you better have a damn good reason for having my witch in your arms or so help me Salazar I will-”</p><p> </p><p>“Draco!” Hermione said, grabbing his arm and turning him to face her as Ron took a full step back in alarm, “focus! Ron and I hugged several times. We missed each other. We made up, and we hugged. Deal with it. Now let’s find Harry, shall we before you end up needing to use unforgivable curses on police officers all over again. In fact, with the mood you're in, using any spells at all might just be a bad idea. Now. Come on!”</p><p> </p><p>It turned out that Harry wasn’t all that hard to find. He was sitting in the second bar they tried, drowning his sorrows in what appeared to be muggle whiskey. “Here you are,” Hermione whispered as she and Draco closed in on him. Harry turned and smiled sheepishly at Draco, who was holding the diary in his hand. </p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to kill Wealsy alone, or do you want my help?” Draco asked, and Harry laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“It wasn’t Ron I wanted to kill.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco merely smirked. “I do.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry threw back the rest of his drink and stood up rather unsteadily as the others gathered behind them. “I really felt like I could have done it, Draco. I hated them so much. All of them. All the Death Eaters who caused us this pain, Voldemort who killed my parents. Dolohov, who killed Tonks and nearly killed Hermione, Bellatrix, who took Sirius away. I Crucio’d her once, you know? In the ministry the night Sirius fell.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco just shrugged. “Not enough, in my opinion. You should have done it plenty more.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re probably right,” Harry agreed as he looked up at Ron. </p><p> </p><p>“I never knew,” Ron said, staring at the diary and shaking his head as Harry snorted rather inelegantly. “You and ‘Mione. I never knew you felt like that about her.” He settled onto the stool beside Harry and looked him in the eye. “You saw what that Horcrux did when I stabbed it. You saw how it played on my insecurities. Are you telling me your’s were the same all along?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Harry admitted, and Ron closed the book that he had somehow ended up with then handed it back to him. </p><p> </p><p>“You're a bloody idiot Harry Potter. She always preferred you over me.”</p><p> </p><p>“No I haven’t! that’s not true!” Hermione turned and glared at Ron. “I liked Harry, and then you and then Harry, and then you left and came back, and oh, Merlin! Now is not the time for this.” She winced as she felt Draco’s grip on her shoulder become vice like.</p><p> </p><p>Ron blew out a long breath, then finally laughed. “Maybe not. Let’s leave you three to it, shall we then?” he asked. Neville agreed, and he, Pansy, Ron, Theo, and Daphne all turned to leave as Harry tipped his head forwards into his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“So you don’t fancy any more day trips to Azkaban then, huh?” Draco signaled the bartender and ordered them three more whiskeys. Hermione added a glass of lemonade to her order, and the barman started placing glasses on the bar. </p><p> </p><p>For a moment, Harry just glared at him furiously, and then his face softened into a sad smile. “You were locked up in there.”</p><p> </p><p>“I was. And I agree, it was shit.” </p><p> </p><p>“Who were you next to?”</p><p> </p><p>“Theo on one side, Greg Goyle on the other, and with a handful of the Dark Lord’s lesser known unmarked followers down the corridor.”</p><p> </p><p>“Was it as awful as I imagine?”</p><p> </p><p>“Worse.” Draco threw back his drink and handed the money to the barman. “Especially after Theo and Greg were released and I was still stuck in there. But it’s over now. I'm out, and I'm not dwelling on it anymore. Come on, Harry, cheer up. I fancy a fight and Weasley’s probably still just about catchable out front.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry spluttered on his drink, “for Christ's sake, no one is fighting Ron!” he said again. </p><p> </p><p>“Shame.” Draco stood up as Hermione finished her drink rather more quickly than was advisable. “Let's go home instead then, shall we?”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone..... it's an extra update tonight!! The closing date for this comp is getting rather scarily close and I still have four chapters left to write and post, so to fit everything in on time I'm adding in a midweek update now! </p><p>Thank you AGAIN for all the love this story is receiving, we are so nearly at 150 kudos...... I can't believe it, THANK YOU!!</p><p>Thank you as well to my alpha and beta for all your help.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione groaned when the alarm woke her the next morning. She opened her eyes a crack, frowning as she peered up at Draco in the offensively bright sunlight. “Morning, sleepyhead!” he said, moving across to press a kiss to her lips. </p><p> </p><p>She yawned as he pulled away and left the bed to answer a frantic tapping at the bedroom window. Her head was pounding, and she winced as she remembered exactly how much she’d had to drink the previous night. Harry merely stirred on her other side, pulled the pillow over his head, then mumbled something incomprehensible before falling straight back to sleep. </p><p> </p><p>As Draco opened the window, a tiny owl hurtled into the room. It catapulted madly around, hooting at the top of its voice. “What in the name of…. Come here, you lunatic creature!” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione opened her eyes again and stared at the small bird in surprise. “That's Pigwidgeon!” she gasped, sitting up with a wince of pain. “Hey, Pig, remember me?” It seemed that the owl did indeed remember her because he flew into Hermione like a feathery rocket and rubbed his soft head against her cheek. “He’s Ron’s owl.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco huffed as his hands unconsciously clenched into fists. “That figures, even Weasley’s bloody pets are annoying. What the hell does it want?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know.” Hermione blinked against the still painfully bright light. “There’s a pouch on his leg, have a look.”</p><p> </p><p>With great difficulty, Draco untied the pouch from the hyperactive owl and opened it up. “There’s a note in here from Theo and Daph, they've borrowed this owl because they don’t have one of their own. Theo’s sent some of his newly improved hangover potion.” Draco rolled his eyes as he uncorked one of the vials and passed it to her. “We’re to gloss over the complete illegality of the recipe, we just need to focus on the fact that it works.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione closed her eyes. She was feeling so bad that she genuinely didn’t mind what the potion contained. She trusted Theo, and with a full day's work ahead of her, she just wanted to feel better. She took the vial, downed the potion inside, and then passed it back as Draco handed her a second vial. “Peppa up. Also, a highly illegal, modified blend. Daphne advises you and Harry to avoid any illicit substance tests at work today, although she says you won’t be smoking at the ears with this version.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded as she drank, then choked alarmingly on the potion’s intense heat. Once she had recovered, she sipped the water Draco gave her and sighed in relief. She was starting to feel better already. “Clearly, it works,” Draco said, smiling as he touched her forehead to check her temperature.</p><p> </p><p>Pigwidgeon paused in flying laps around the bedroom to land squarely on Harry’s head. Unhappy with Harry’s lack of response, he prodded his ear with a sharp toe and hooted loudly. Harry groaned, and Hermione giggled. “You're looking a much healthier color now,” Draco confirmed. “I’m going to make breakfast while you shower, then we can all get to work on time. Let me get these potions into Harry, then I’ll kick Theo up the arse for sending them to an Auror in the first place.” </p><p> </p><p>Draco glared at Pigwidgeon, who had taken off to circle the room like a feathery missile again. “Theo and Daphne obviously trust you not to report them. It’s kind of them to send these, please don’t tell them off.” Hermione waited for Draco’s muttered confirmation then made her way to the bathroom for a long hot shower. </p><p> </p><p>When she came out again, Pigwidgeon had left through the open window, and Harry and Draco were sitting in bed talking. She got dressed in the now peaceful, owl-free room and left them alone, heading downstairs to make breakfast herself. </p><p> </p><p>When she was done, there was still no sign of the boys. She cast a stasis charm over their food to keep it warm and headed back upstairs to find them wrapped up in a passionate kiss. She paused in the doorway, watching with a smile until Draco turned his head and her cheeks heated into a blush. “I… Uh…. Breakfast is ready.” </p><p> </p><p>“I was going to make that,” Draco said, checking the alarm clock and frowning, “we, uh, we lost track of time. Sorry.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione smiled. “No problem at all. You can do it next time. Are you coming now, or shall I refresh its stasis charm?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, we’ll come,” Harry said as he stretched. “Thanks, ‘Mione. Listen, I’m sorry for being dramatic last night. I wasn’t expecting you all to come out looking for me. I figured Draco would know where I was if I didn’t come straight home, and it would be the two of you at most.”</p><p> </p><p>“I couldn’t reach Draco on the phone, so I panicked,” Hermione admitted. “But, and here’s the thing, last time you went out upset like that, I had nobody else to go to for help. So, I sat downstairs, had a huge panic attack, and thought the world was going to end. This time I had people that I could call. I couldn’t get through to you, Draco, but I went to Neville instead, and then Pansy roped Theo and Daphne in. Ron was already there, and I knew Blaise and Ginny were at the end of the phone, plus we could have called Dean or Seamus if need be. I’m sorry you had a terrible night, Harry, really I am. I also don’t mean to sound unsympathetic here, but for me, it was like a revelation in how far I’ve come recently.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s brilliant.” Harry said, laughing at her enthusiasm. “I’m thrilled you’re feeling better. I’ve still got a little way to go, I really need to get a grip on these overwhelming feelings that I get sometimes. I knew what I was doing this time as well. It was like I was watching myself do it, and I knew I shouldn’t be doing it, but was I unable to stop myself. Does that make any sense?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Hermione nodded. </p><p> </p><p>“No!” Draco exclaimed at precisely the same time. </p><p> </p><p>“Really?” Hermione glanced at Draco as they left the bedroom, and he frowned, looking entirely baffled by the concept of not being in control of his own actions. </p><p> </p><p>As she pondered his reaction, Hermione suddenly understood. Draco’s impeccable self control was made possible by the Occlumency guard that she saw so often in his eyes. Draco was always entirely in control, but he was also entirely guarded. He could present whatever face he chose to the world, and nobody would know his inner feelings unless he wanted them to. </p><p> </p><p>Neither she nor Harry possessed that ability.</p><p> </p><p>“If you couldn’t Occlude, not even slightly, do you think you would feel and behave differently to the way you do now?” she asked gently, and Draco's answering frown told her all that she needed to know. “Neither myself nor Harry can use Occlumency, in fact, Harry can't close his mind to anything at all. That's one of the reasons why the dementors love him so much. He’s a riot of strong feelings with no filter on them. As I understand it, that's one of the reasons you're paired together in the Auror department too. Harry’s moral compass balances you out, and your skills with mind magic keep you both out of trouble. Not everyone can Occlude like you can, Draco.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not everyone had Severus Snape as their personal tutor for mind magic, though, did they? Anyone can learn Occlumency with the right teacher,” Draco argued.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione shook her head. “I disagree. Snape tried to teach Harry back in school, but he couldn’t.” She left Draco to digest this information as they all stepped into the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>“You are an angel ‘Mione,” Harry announced, sitting down and tucking hungrily into his scrambled eggs on toast. </p><p> </p><p>The tapping of another post owl on the window caught their attention. “That’s Medusa, Pansy’s owl,”  Draco said as he got up to open the window, ”what’s going on now?!” </p><p> </p><p>“Medusa?!” Harry laughed as Draco untied the letter from the graceful bird’s leg. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes. She’s the only jet black owl I’ve ever seen. Pansy charmed her feathers green when we were in our third year, and look, there’s still a hint of it there now.” Draco passed the note to Harry and stretched out Medusa’s wing. Sure enough, her feathers shone iridescent green and black. “I don’t think I’ve had a post owl in months. What is it with all of our friends sending them today?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione fed Medusa some of her breakfast as Harry stared at the letter looking stunned. “What? What is it?”</p><p> </p><p>Wordlessly he passed the note to her, and she read out loud. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Draco……… ! Guess what…… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> No, you’ll never guess. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I’ll tell you.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> WE’RE ENGAGED!!!!!! Nev asked me last night. Apparently, he’s had the ring for ages (It was his Mothers engagement ring…… can you IMAGINE how important that is to him???!), but apparently, me poking you in the chest and telling you off for looking like you were going to punch him made him get down on one knee and do it last night!!!!!!  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I’m going to be Pansy Longbottom. I LOOOOOOOOOVE it!!!!!!!! LOOK at the ring. LOOK AT IT!!!!!! Isn’t it A....MA….ZING?!!!!!!!  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thank you, Mr. Grumpy Pants. If it weren’t for you, this wouldn’t have happened. Not last night anyway. I love you.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> AND I LOVE MY NEW HUSBAND TO BE!!!!! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Have a good day. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Much love, </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Pansy Longbottom.  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Wow!” Hermione laughed and passed the note and it’s accompanying photograph of Pansy's fingers to Draco. “That’s a happy letter!”</p><p> </p><p>Harry just laughed. “Good old Neville. That’s a lovely ring too. I’d never have predicted this one in a million years but, good for them.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good for them indeed,” Draco said, smiling as he hunted around for a pen to write a return note of congratulations. “I’d say their relationship is just about as unpredictable as ours is. Wouldn’t you?”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>The next two workdays passed by in a blur of research. Hermione and Blaise poured over every book they could find in their office and then widened their search to take in the entire D.O.M., as they looked for suitable spells or rituals. </p><p> </p><p>Flourish and Blotts also failed to produce anything of note, and by six pm on Friday, Hermione finally accepted that Blaise was right. They were unlikely to find the spell they needed in any official spell books because the magic they needed to call upon for this ritual was just too dark for the Ministry to approve it.</p><p> </p><p>“We need to look elsewhere,” Blaise said, snapping the final book shut with a sigh. “We could search in here forever and still not find what we want.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed and pressed her fingers to her temple. “I agree,” she said after a moment of pondering what else they could do. “I don’t want to accept that we’re straying into dark magic territory, but we are, and you’re right. We won’t find that sort of spell in the official books.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s <em> very </em>dark, that's the problem. We need to look in darker places for the spells.” Blaise sighed. “I did try to move away from all of that, and I know you’ve never been involved in it, but we’re not going to find anything that meets our needs if we only look at lawful and light magic.” </p><p> </p><p>“Where do you suggest we look then?” Hermione stretched the kinks out of her neck and stood up. “Grimmauld has a library that’s got some crazily dark books in it, a lot of them Harry and I have never actually opened, that could be a good place to start.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep,” Blaise agreed. “There’s also Malfoy Manor, although a lot of their stuff was seized after the war, except for the... Has Draco mentioned that yet?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mentioned what?” Hermione frowned. This wasn’t the first time someone had referred to something hidden at Malfoy Manor, and she felt frustrated that she hadn’t been let in on the secret yet.</p><p> </p><p>“Never mind. Would you be open to looking in some of the bookshops in Knockturn Alley as well? It’s more about who you know down there, though, so there are a few shopkeepers that might be worth talking to,” Blaise said, clenching his fingers and looking mildly uncomfortable with the idea himself.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know anyone in Knockturn at all, so I won’t be much help with that, I’m afraid,” Hermione admitted as she pulled her jacket on. “I’m happy to look, though. Do you know anyone who might be able to help?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not on close enough terms unfortunately, but a lot of the shopkeepers know Draco well. He’d probably be able to get the right info.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione looked at him skeptically. “Don't you think they’d be nervous about talking to him? Everyone knows he’s an Auror now, don’t they?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise sighed, “Yeah, probably. I bet Theo could do it. He sources a lot of highly illegal stuff that Draco turns a blind eye to in Knockturn, and he’s on good terms with most of the shopkeepers. I’m modeling for Pansy tomorrow, but I could see him this evening before taking Ginny out, and fill him in. If I get him and Daph to take a vow of secrecy, they could probably trek down there tomorrow and do some research for us.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded as she shook her hair loose from its neat but uncomfortable bun. “Sounds good. As long as they don’t mind helping, and we’re not getting them in any trouble. I’ll look in the library at Grimmauld tonight and see what books I can find there too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Perfect.” Blaise halted in the Room of Spinning Doors and caught her arm, looking at her seriously. “Don’t look at any dark books without Draco being there, please Hermione. A lot of this is potentially very dangerous magic and no offense, but you’re not well versed in the Dark Arts. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded in agreement as the seriousness of the magic they were exploring washed over her alarmingly. “Okay. I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>It turned out that Blaise was right to be concerned. A lot of the books in Grimmauld Place’s library were downright horrifying. </p><p> </p><p>Harry cast an Auror level curse shield over each one of them before they began their research. Still, one of the books Hermione opened hit her with a compulsion spell of such strength that she turned her wand on Harry, accused him of being a mudblood and therefore not welcome in a pureblood household, and then hurled a violent hex at him. </p><p> </p><p>Harry caught her wand in a perfect Expelliarmus as Draco immobilized her. Harry ended the compulsion spell with a Finite Incantatum leaving Hermione panting in shock and staring at him with wide, horrified eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s a bit rich coming from a fellow muggleborn,” Draco quipped, and the tension of the moment was broken. ”Oh come on, relax, shield that book and put it back, let's move on,” he said, already plucking the next book off the shelf. “Wow! Okay, maybe not this one. Although a spell to make your opponent’s arms drop off might be useful in a duel!”</p><p> </p><p>Despite spending so much of the weekend looking through dark spellbooks, they still found nothing that would meet their current needs, and by midday Sunday Hermione was growing more frustrated by the moment. </p><p> </p><p>“We need a break,” Harry announced after lunch. He put his knife and fork down and sat back in his chair. “And, we need to go and see Remus. Specifically, <em> I </em>need to go and see Remus. I’ve been putting off seeing him for months because of how I’ve been feeling, I didn’t really want him to know how much I’ve been struggling lately, but it doesn’t feel right to attempt this without at least telling him what we’re trying to do.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco nodded. “Didn’t you say he had a jacket or something we could use in the ritual too?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. He still has Sirius’ leather jacket. I told him to keep it after the veil…. you know….. It could be just what we need to tether the magic to. But even aside from that, Remus was Sirius’s best friend, and that’s before we go into the fact that they’ve been in love with each other all their lives. I think having Remus involved somehow would help. I’m going to pop by Lupin Cottage now. He might not be in, but I can’t sit here any longer, I need to get out of the house.”</p><p> </p><p>“Go on then, and we could pop to Theo’s and see if he and Daph managed to pick up any information in Knockturn yesterday,” Draco suggested, turning to Hermione with a smile. “Seriously, love, we need to get out too. We’ve been researching this all bloody weekend.” </p><p> </p><p>Reluctantly she agreed, and after a quick freshen up, she followed Draco into the floo. They tumbled out at the other end into a quaint country cottage. Hermione had never been to Theo and Daphne’s before, and somehow she had been expecting them to have a flat similar to Neville and Pansy’s, but this little house was as different from an over shop apartment as it was possible to find. </p><p> </p><p>“Anyone home?” Draco called, but there was no answer. “They're probably outside,” he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the back door and into the sunny garden. </p><p> </p><p>After so long pouring over books in the dimly lit library, it was nice to get out in the fresh air. Hermione pushed up her sleeves, exposing her arms to the sun, and looked around the beautiful cottage garden.</p><p> </p><p>Draco strolled down the path, around a corner, and into a neatly kept vegetable patch. “Hello?” he called, “you two had better not be shagging in the studio.” </p><p> </p><p>“Draco! Hermione!” Daphne stood up from the row of seeds she was planting, wiped her dirty hands on her jeans, and smiled. “How lovely to see you. I didn’t know you were coming over.” She hugged them both in turn, “excuse the state of me. It’s a garden day.”</p><p> </p><p>“So I see,” Hermione smiled warmly. “That's quite okay. You have a beautiful garden.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.” Daphne looked around it proudly. “Theo’s in the studio if you want him, but... you're not here officially, are you Draco?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco sighed, “no, Daph. Why? What’s he up to in there that he shouldn’t be?”</p><p> </p><p>“If you're here unofficially, then it’s nothing at all.” Daphne smiled sweetly as she opened a creaky wooden door that was half-hidden by years worth of tumbling ivy and led them inside. “Hey sweetie,” she said, as Theo looked up from a bubbling cauldron in alarm.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” Draco said, holding up his hands in surrender as Theo glanced shiftily at an array of ingredients laid out on the workbench. “As if I would anyway!”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, mate.” Theo pushed his dark hair out of his eyes and hopped off his stool to greet them. “I take it you want to know how we got on yesterday? Daphne pointed her wand at the kettle and lit the stove beneath it, then leaned against the bench beside Theo. “We did good. Didn’t we, Daph?”</p><p> </p><p>“We did,” she confirmed. “But, oh my word, do you know what you’re getting yourself into here, Hermione?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not really, no,” Hermione admitted as she bit her lip in concern. “I mean, people keep telling me it’s dark magic, but no one’s found a spell or a ritual yet, so I honestly have no idea of specifics.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmmm, I’ll make tea, but if you want something stronger once you know what’s going to happen, just let me know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay...” Hermione stifled her concern as she wandered around the studio. Her jaw dropped as she started to look at Theo’s artwork. A pile of large canvas portraits was stacked against a wall, and each one of them was in a rather familiar looking style. There was an abstract seascape and several woodland scenes propped up, too, although these were clearly still in the drying process, and a number of sculptures were also dotted around the room. Every single piece he had made was exquisite. </p><p> </p><p>“Wow, Theo, these are amazing!” she said, flipping through the portraits and pausing to admire each one. “I had no idea you were so good. You should be famous!” </p><p> </p><p>Theo chuckled. “Thanks. I do okay with selling it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Theo doesn’t sell anything under his own name,” Daphne said with a small smile, “because people get upset by his surname and suddenly change their mind about buying the art. Have you heard of the artist called Natrix Flint?” </p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Hermione nodded slowly, her eyes widening as realization dawned on her, “Oh my Gods! That’s you? But?! I knew that name was an alias, but no one knows who he…. Really? That’s you?” Theo nodded as Draco watched her, clearly amused by her inarticulate stuttering. “Oh!! Just…. wow!!” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione looked at the paintings and sculptures again, feeling even more impressed now that she knew who he really was. “Why did you choose that name?”</p><p> </p><p>Theo shrugged, “Natrix is Latin for grass-snake. I just put Slytherin and Greengrass together, and Flint was my Mother’s maiden name. I sell a lot of my stuff in the muggle world too, and my customers mostly think I’m a reclusive French artist.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione’s stunned surprise was broken by the whistle of the kettle and a simultaneous flash of brilliant silver from the potion Theo was brewing. Daphne busied herself making tea while Theo started bottling the unidentified liquid into glass vials. “Here, Malfoy, give us a hand.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco picked up a ladle and dipped it into the cauldron, then paused, “If this potion is what I think it is, I’m officially not doing this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Imagine it’s something else then, and you’ll be fine.” Theo grinned cheekily. “This is to help you out anyway. Did you really think I’d get the kind of information you wanted for free in Knockturn?”<br/><br/></p><p>“You traded this potion for intel?”</p><p> </p><p>“Course I did. I got us a damn good deal too. Now quit whining and get bottling, will you? This has to be airtight before it cools or it’s buggered.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco sighed, rolled his eyes, and started ladelling the mirror-like potion into vials. “What did you find out then? Thanks, Daph.”</p><p> </p><p>Daphne smiled as she put cups down in front of them all and took the ladle from Draco’s hand. “Come on. I’ll do this. That way, you’re not involved, are you?” she smiled gently as Draco frowned but didn’t object further.</p><p> </p><p>“What potion is it?” Hermione’s curiosity wouldn't hold back any longer. </p><p> </p><p>“Disillusionment Draught,” Theo admitted. “The proper stuff made with Demiguise hair and tears. One dose makes you completely invisible for a full hour. It sells like gold dust on the black market, for obvious reasons. It’s horrendously hard to brew correctly, and not many people are willing to try. Therefore it has a very high trade value.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded, feeling overwhelmed by what they were getting involved in once more. “But you’re willing to make it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Darling, my father invented it.” Theo’s blue eyes were twinkling as Hermione’s jaw dropped yet again. “It was a happy accident on his part a few years back, he was trying to adapt Delirium Draught to harness its painkilling properties, but he came up with this by chance instead. It caused the Aurors a good few problems during the last war, and now it’s very highly coveted by some of Knockturn Alley’s less, uh… scrupulous dealers.”</p><p> </p><p>“And I’m standing here watching you make it.” Draco rolled his eyes yet again. “You realize I should arrest you on the spot for this? And probably myself too for standing by?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep,” Theo grinned. “But you won’t. Cos’ you love me. And because you want my info.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dammit, Nott!” Draco swore, sipping his tea. “Come on then, spill the bloody beans. It had better be worth it. What do we have to do?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione didn’t think her eyes could grow any wider as she listened to what Theo said. Blaise had been right. This kind of blood magic and life hook spell was about as dark as it was possible to get, and even the books in the Blood Magic Room of the D.O.M. had barely acknowledged its existence. By the time Theo had finished explaining the ritual they would have to perform, Hermione’s hand was over her mouth, and she was staring at Daphne in horror. </p><p> </p><p>“Draco!” She gasped, “we can’t possibly do this. It’s far too risky! How would we even go about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Theo surmised, fixing Draco with an appraising gaze, “you’ll need the blood ritual kit that’s hidden at Malfoy Manor. To the best of my knowledge, that’s traceable through the Gaunt family line right back to Salazar Slytherin himself, and I doubt there’s anything more powerful for blood magic in the entire Wizarding World. You, mate, need to get the intention of the spell spot on too. You’ll be leading the ritual because you’ve got Black family blood in your veins, and I know for a fact that Blaise won’t take the lead in anything this dark. Miss the intention by a hair’s breadth and its curtains. For Sirius<em> and </em>for you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you alright, Hermione?” Daphne asked as Hermione just stared blankly at her for a long moment. “I did warn you that this ritual was a bit crazy!”</p><p> </p><p>“Is this really the only way?” Draco asked, and Theo nodded as he put the last stopper into the vial he was holding. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes. You can do it though mate, you’re perfectly capable. Just, you know, mind your intention. If you get it right, you’re laughing.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, fine.” Draco ran his fingers through his hair and sighed deeply.</p><p> </p><p>“You do know my father isn’t going to let you do this?” Daphne asked, and Hermione and Draco both turned to look at her in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>“Your father?” Hermione asked, “no offense, but what’s he got to do with anything?” </p><p> </p><p>Daphne smiled. “Gareth Greengrass, the head Unspeakable, is my dad, and I’m telling you now, he won’t go for this. He’s never been a fan of the Dark Arts or of blood magic rituals. You’ll have to slip him a decoy while you do this. When you’re successful, fudge over how you did it too, or you’ll probably all get the sack.”</p><p> </p><p>“No one can know about the ritual kit at the manor either,” Draco sighed dramatically. “If anyone finds out we’ve still got that, I’ll be back in Azkaban in a heartbeat, and my Father will never be released.” </p><p> </p><p>Theo nodded, “that figures.” He finished writing on the vials and put his pen down. “Do you want a hand working the details out, and with the actual ritual itself?”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe. I’ll have to speak to Blaise and Harry about it all first. Harry’s going to go mental at this, you know?” Draco said, tipping his head back to the ceiling and running his fingers through his hair yet again.</p><p> </p><p>Theo grinned as he reached up and batted Draco’s hand down. “That bloody hair is more famous than you are, and you’ll be bald if you keep this up. Leave it alone! I can only imagine what Potter will say. I reckon Blaise will try to back out when he sees what’s involved too. You know I won’t falter if you want help, and Daph can keep her Dad off the trail if need be.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d also be there if any of you happened to need a healer too,” Daphne said quietly as she examined the finished vials on the workbench.</p><p> </p><p>There was a pause while Draco stared at Theo and a whole unspoken conversation seemed to pass between them both. “Hermione?” Draco asked, turning to study her carefully.</p><p> </p><p>Looking into Daphne’s blue eyes and finding her cool, female presence reassuring, Hermione nodded. “It’s more than fine with me,” she said. </p><p> </p><p> Draco nodded and turned back to Theo. “Yes, please. I’ll need to clear it with Harry and Blaise, but as far as I’m concerned, you're both in.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You're saying pretty much the same things that Remus said to me earlier, Hermione,” Harry admitted as they all sat at the table at Grimmauld Place with a bottle of wine later that night. “He told me to not even try it. He told me off for even considering using that kind of magic. He shouted at me for being irresponsible and told me he’ll have no part in a ritual that risky. Still, he did give me the jacket and then finally, <em> finally </em> admit that he has feelings for Sirius.” Harry took a drink from his glass and laughed, “I don’t know who was more surprised, me that he actually admitted it, or him that everyone else already knew.”</p><p> </p><p>“For fuck’s sake! Why would you go your whole life not being with someone you love just because, well, what was their reason for not being together? Surely it wasn’t because they didn’t want to admit they were gay?” Theo asked, looking at Harry incredulously. </p><p> </p><p>“I think maybe that was the reason.” Harry shrugged as Theo rolled his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“Mad.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise nodded his agreement. “Yes. Totally mad. So, are we really going to do this? When I started work on this project, I had no idea it would end up <em> this </em>dark. If I’d known, I would probably have halted research there and then.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine with doing it now I’ve got my head around it,” Draco said with a shrug. </p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” Theo agreed, topping off their glasses as Daphne nodded. “What about you, Hermione, Blaise? it’s decision time.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise sighed dramatically. “If you two weren’t with me, there’s no way I’d touch this. Since you are, and you both seem confident, then well, I’m in.”</p><p> </p><p>“Harry?” Draco asked.</p><p> </p><p>Harry traced the pattern on his wineglass with his finger before he answered. “I want Sirius back. I’ve done plenty of stupid, ill-advised shit before. This is just a different version of it, isn’t it? I’ve been in from the start.”</p><p> </p><p>“Which leaves it all up to you, gorgeous girl,” Draco said, taking Hermione’s hand and kissing her lips. “If you object to it that strongly, we won’t do anything at all.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed. She had been thinking about the problem for the entire weekend. “I think we have to try doing it, and we know that there's no other way. Harry wants Sirius back. Hell, I want Sirius back. I don’t like it one little bit, just so you all know. But yes,” she took a deep breath, “I’m in.” She tipped her glass up, almost draining it in one and staring Harry in the eye. “Bring it on. Let’s do this.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay..... so if you've been reading this story up until this point you may have some idea of what's coming in this chapter..... if you're just looking in now, well.... this one needs a big content warning!</p><p>The second part of the chapter contains a huge, rather dark, Blood Magic ritual. </p><p>Hopefully people have got used to my writing by now, and can trust me, the ritual is not written in an overtly icky or yucky way, and I've really tried to keep it as non triggering as possible. But, it is there. So if you are in any way sensitive to blood, cutting yourself, (medically for blood ritual purposes, not self harm,) or anything at all to do with Dark Magic or spell rituals, then please, either read it with caution or give that part a miss. Stories are meant to be enjoyable and I'd hate to trigger anyone. </p><p>Having said all that.... here it is, the big chapter!!! EEEEEEK! </p><p>I hope people enjoy it..... and if you do enjoy it and you leave us a little comment or some kudos, we will love you forever. Thank you all so much!! </p><p>Thank you to my alpha/beta for your time and help.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione pushed her way out of the main entry doors of the D.O.M., knowing she was late to meet Blaise, Draco, and Harry for lunch. She hurried along the corridor and rounded the first corner, faltering at the sound of Harry’s raised voice. “What do you mean we can’t perform this ritual at Grimmauld?!” he exclaimed, looking up at the sound of her approach. Despite his apparent outrage, he turned to meet her with a kiss. “It’s the obvious place to do it, surely?” </p><p> </p><p>Draco frowned, fixing Blaise with the full force of his steely grey eyes. “I agree. If this is because Gareth Greengrass is still pissed at you for leading Astoria on, I will hex off your overused dangly bits, Blaise!”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione turned from Harry’s effortless kiss to Draco’s rather stilted one, and they made their way along the black tiled corridor. Blaise returned Draco’s frown as they walked. “Seriously, why must you always have a go at me over girls? I didn’t lead Astoria on. She threw herself at me in a nightclub on several occasions. I gave her exactly what she wanted every time.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, you didn’t, mate. She wanted marriage and babies. Not a series of one-night stands.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. Well, she had a funny way of showing that then,” Blaise retorted crossly. “Anyway, you’re hardly in a position to criticize my treatment of Astoria, are you? Lucius had you under contract to marry the girl, but you wriggled your way out of it by purposely shagging Pansy. Again.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione remained quiet as Draco sighed in exasperation and continued arguing, “oh fine! Bring that up, why don’t you? At least Astoria got out of a potential marriage to me alive, which is something your family can hardly claim-”</p><p> </p><p>“Ahem!” Harry said pointedly as they stepped into the mercifully empty lift. “Enough! You two bicker worse than an old married couple sometimes!”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise laughed, and even Draco smiled as the tension broke. “Let’s leave my family out of this, shall we, Malfoy? We all know what happens to the men who cross my mother, all I did was give Astoria a few good nights.” He grimaced as he pushed his glasses up onto his head and rubbed his eyes. “Let’s both set aside our history with the Chief Unspeakable’s youngest daughter and focus on the more pressing issue here. We need to perform the ritual in front of the arch. The readings we took from the front of the veil are identical to the readings in the bedroom. Don’t forget that Sirius passed through the veil itself. We can’t do the ritual in the bedroom because the veil vortex doesn’t have an opening there.”</p><p> </p><p>“But what about the energy readings we took there? What was the point of doing all of that?” Harry was still clearly frustrated. He rumpled his hair in agitation and fidgeted with his glasses as he stared at Blaise.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione shifted in the corner, thinking hard. Once Blaise had left the meeting that morning, Gareth had held her back for her end of induction review and she had gladly accepted his glowing praise for her initial work. Gareth had then smiled and ushered her out of his office before stopping her in the doorway to repeat his earlier warnings. Under no circumstances was the ritual to be performed outside of the Ministry, and what did take place within the D.O.M. was to be a heavily scaled down version of the full ritual they had spent all week planning.</p><p> </p><p>Blaise closed his eyes and sighed. “We took readings in so many places to prove that Sirius is still around and very much alive. If you take energy readings from a regular haunting, the most you’ll get is a record of spirit energy because the person who died now only exists in that form. The readings <em> we </em> took were living, full-bodied, <em> corporeal </em>person energy. We proved that Sirius is still alive, in some form, most notably in the bedroom at Grimmauld, probably because he’s looking out for you, Harry. But he needs to come out of the arch the way he went in. The arch needs to chuck him back out again. We can’t hope for that to happen if we’re doing the ritual away from the arch itself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay fine.” Draco nodded in agreement as the lift doors opened. They walked through the Atrium and into the warm sunshine outside. “How do you propose we do it then? And why haven’t you said anything at all yet, Hermione? What’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed. “We’ve just spent the entire morning with Gareth and I’m upset because he won’t approve of what we want to do. Although he admired our work and was fascinated by the energy readings and the vortex theory, he categorically refused to let us try pulling Sirius back with anything other than a very, <em> very </em>toned down version of our planned ritual. He’s not going to risk any of us being pulled the wrong way through the arch or a repeat of what happened with the time travel experiments of a few years ago.”</p><p> </p><p>“He won’t budge,” Blaise agreed. “He hates Blood magic too. The only reason there’s a room for it in the D.O.M. is because Shacklebolt wants it investigated. We can’t get clearance to bring Theo or Daphne inside the department either, and I don’t want to even consider doing this without them present. Now that we know what it involves, I want a healer on hand, and we all know that Theo dips in and out of the Dark Arts far further than any of us are willing to go. We need his experience to know how far to push the ritual and when to stop it before it goes too far.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise sighed as he continued, “basically, Gareth turned our proposal down, and he’s forbidden the use of Blood Magic too. Can you imagine what would happen if he caught us mid ritual, having already forbidden us to do it?” </p><p> </p><p>Draco laughed, “I don’t know what you're worrying about, mate. Daphne’s not actively involved in the ritual unless it all goes to shit, so she’ll have a free wand. We can just ward the door, and if he was to get through, she can Imperio him to sit quietly in the corner, then obliviate him afterward when we’re all done. Problem solved.”</p><p> </p><p>“Harry, Hermione?” Blaise said with a roll of his eyes, “have either of you got any more sensible ideas?”</p><p> </p><p>“As it happens,” Hermione said quietly, “I have. But it’s about as mad as robbing Gringotts and flying away on a dragon was.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry caught her eye and gave her his slow, easy smile, “that’s my girl.” She laughed at his conspiratorial wink as they made their way through the park.</p><p> </p><p>A football came sailing through the air towards them. Harry blocked it with his foot then kicked it gently back to the small child who had lost it. “Thanks, Mister!” the boy shouted, making Harry grin as he gave him a thumbs up.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione cleared her throat, realizing that they were all waiting for her to continue. “What if we do the ritual we’ve already planned at night when the D.O.M. is empty. Therefore no one is in work to catch us or to interfere with what happens.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise shook his head, “we can’t do that. The entire D.O.M is security warded, love. The intruder alarms will sound if we’re inside. Some Hogwarts kids broke in a few years back, and there was a bit of a fight in the D.O.M…. I don’t know if you heard about that?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Very funny,” She swatted at Blaise, and he caught her hand with a chuckle. “Okay, let me think. Our badges activate the wards, right? And we need the badges on to get into the Death Room?” Blaise nodded in confirmation. “And our badges check us back out again, so once our badges leave, the wards think we’ve left with them and won’t pick us up if we’re still inside without them. Am I right with all of this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. One of the rules in our contract states that we should never go anywhere without our badges. For that very reason-”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione held up a hand, and Blaise fell silent. “Okay, hear me out, please. So we open the Death Room door with our badges and slip inside just before hometime. We then take our badges off and give them to someone else who takes them out of the D.O.M. and home for us. It’s as if we’ve signed ourselves out to leave as usual. But, we stay inside the Death Room badgeless, then perform the ritual in the night without anyone knowing we’re in there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then we’ll be stuck in there all night, Hermione, maybe all weekend since it’s Friday today. We can’t get out without the badges.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?” Draco challenged, looking mildly impressed by her idea. “If it’s like the DMLE, you only need your badges to get in. The badges check you out when you leave, that way, the wards think the departments are empty, but if someone gets stuck in there without a badge, they can freely leave. It’s a safety feature so that no one gets locked in.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think the entire Ministry is warded that same way,” Harry confirmed. “They added that release feature after a couple of maintenance guys did get stuck in the D.O.M. all weekend. How do we get Theo and Daphne in, though? Also, who’s going to take the badges out for us, and how will <em>they</em> get in?” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione’s face split into a slow smile as a plan formed in her mind. “That illegal potion Theo was making the other day. It makes you invisible, right?” </p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Draco said slowly, still staring at her and looking more impressed by the moment.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll ask Ron to take the badges for us,” she spun excitedly on the spot, twirling around as the plan came together in her mind. “If we leave work at five, meet up, all take a dose of potion and then slip back inside the D.O.M. while we’re invisible, we can all get into the Death Room with our badges. Ron can then take them home for us while he’s still invisible. The potion lasts an hour, right? So if we take it at about half five, we’ll be invisible inside the room when they do the security check and lock the department at six. Once the potion has worn off, we’ll have as much time as we like to freely perform the ritual. The wards won’t know we're there, and we can leave undetected by the motion sensors if we take more of the potion on our way out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hermione,” Blaise said, stopping to stare at her in abject shock, “I knew there was a reason I held out for you. You’re bloody brilliant! It’s a foolproof plan. There’s no way it can fail.”</p><p> </p><p>“Still, you’re mildly terrifying,” Harry said with an impressed laugh. “Ron and I have always said that she’s brilliant but terrifying.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione smiled broadly, glowing with happiness at their praise. “Draco?” she asked, looking nervously in his direction, “What do you think of the idea?”</p><p> </p><p>“Brilliant doesn’t even come close.” He leaned down to kiss her, “the brains of the Golden Trio indeed. Why the fuck does the plan have to involve Ron bloody Weasley though? Can’t we ask Pansy or Neville instead?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because,” Hermione smiled patiently as she reached up to cup his cheek, “we want this plan to work. Much as I love Neville, he’s hardly good at sneaking around, nor is Pansy, I would imagine. Apart from you three, there’s no one else in the world that I would trust to do this more than I trust Ron.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think she has a good point there,” Harry said. “I also think that maybe you need to get over your dislike of Ron a little, Draco.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, fine!” Draco said, “include him in the plans if you must. I’ll hold back on saying I like the guy, though. Just no more hugging him, please.”</p><p> </p><p>“I will hug whoever I want to hug thank you very much!” Hermione said indignantly, making Harry laugh. “I’ve never told you not to hug Pansy or Daphne, have I? Despite your past relationships with them both?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think she’s got you tied up in knots there, mate. You can’t argue with that logic!” Blaise held up his hand, and Hermione high-fived him, giggling at Draco’s exasperation.</p><p> </p><p>“She really does. I'm afraid you’ll have to settle for bossing her around in the bedroom.” Harry said with a laugh, “Hermione will never let you get away with it anywhere else.</p><p> </p><p>“Which is far more information than I need right now!” Blaise said, sticking his fingers in his ears as Draco finally admitted defeat with a laugh.  </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Hermione looked around nervously. Standing in Theo and Daphne’s lounge with a vial of Disillusionment Draught in her hand suddenly made what they were planning to do feel very real indeed. She was forcibly reminded of the last time they had planned to break into the Ministry. It had been during the war when they had needed to steal the locket Horcrux from around Dolores Umbridge’s neck, and she had forgotten how uncomfortable the lead up to such events felt. </p><p> </p><p>“So, let me get this straight, you’re asking me to break approximately five billion laws here tonight, but you can’t tell me what we’re doing or why,” Ron asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, yeah.” Harry grinned sheepishly, “but you’ll be doing it with a pair of Aurors, and we can give you a more specific breakdown of the illegalities involved tomorrow. Does that help at all?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not really,” Ron said, staring at him appraisingly. “Look, I have no idea why any of you want to be shut in that bloody veil room all night,” he shuddered, “I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be, but since it’s you two asking me to do this, I’m in. No questions asked.” </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Ron. We will explain tomorrow, I promise.” Hermione reached over to hug him, and as she pulled back, she kissed his cheek, catching the amusement in his clear blue eyes and the fury flashing in Draco’s stormy grey ones.</p><p> </p><p>Ron nodded with a grin as he fingered her hair. “It’s fine. You’d better step back, though, ‘Mione. One of your boyfriends looks like he’s about to have a fit over how close we currently are.” Hermione just rolled her eyes as Draco continued to glare furiously at Ron.</p><p> </p><p>“Hermione,” Harry said, tugging her forwards into his embrace, “do you remember the night I got arrested and all of this started? We were lying in bed together, and you told me that you missed the girl you used to be. You said you missed the girl who defeated Voldemort, who robbed Gringotts and flew away on a dragon? Do you remember that?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded. “I do remember saying that.” She opened her eyes, laughing as she looked up at him. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, How does it feel to have found that part of yourself again?”</p><p> </p><p>She grinned. “It feels amazing. Kiss me, Harry.” He did, and she held him tightly, drawing her own confidence from his calm assurance. Finally, she looked back up, and the determination in his eyes matched her own. “Are you completely sure this potion won’t harm us, Theo?”</p><p> </p><p>“I promise,” Theo said, from where he was sharing a similar private moment with Daphne. “Although It’s a bloody weird feeling when you take it, so be warned.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco moved across to join them with his own vial in his hand. “Ready?” he asked, and Hermione smiled as she stepped out of Harry’s embrace and into his. “Kiss me, Draco,” she whispered. </p><p> </p><p>He slowly bent his head down to brush her lips with his own, and she whimpered, allowing him to pull her into a kiss of such passion that adrenaline shot wildly through her whole body, leaving her reeling with its intensity. When she finally stepped back, Ron looked stunned. Draco held his vial up as he gently cupped her cheek and stroked her face with his thumb. “Ready?” he asked again. </p><p> </p><p>“Have you got the mysterious kit from the Manor?” she whispered, and he nodded. Theo, Daphne, Ron, and Blaise joined them, and she double checked that Theo had the bag of more Disillusionment Draught for later on that night. “On three then?” she asked, and everyone nodded. “One, two, three!”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione downed her vial and waited for the potion to take effect as everyone around her did the same. Theo had been right. It was the strangest feeling in the world. Hermione's whole body started to tingle, then very slowly, her arms began to lose their color. She stared curiously at Draco, watching as he simply faded away into nothingness. </p><p> </p><p>“When this is over, remind me to give you all some of this to play around with. Invisible sex is an experience everyone should have at least once in their lives,” Theo said, and Hermione giggled as she felt Harry touch her now invisible hand. </p><p> </p><p>“Shall we go then?” she heard Blaise ask from somewhere across the room, and she nodded, then realized that was a pointless exercise.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she said instead and giggled again at the moments of pure comedy that followed as they all tried to find each other in the seemingly empty room. “Who’s that?” she asked, feeling Draco let go of her hand and someone else take it. “Ron, where are you?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s me,” Blaise replied. “I’d rather hold your hand than Malfoy’s.” </p><p> </p><p>“I’m here,” Ron said, finding her wrist and taking hold of her other hand.</p><p> </p><p>“What's wrong with my hand Zabini?” Draco asked, and she giggled yet again. </p><p> </p><p>“He's fine with Hermione’s hand, as is Ron. They’re all fine. You’ve got me.” Harry muttered. “Are we all ready?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep,” Theo chirped from across the room. “Told you the potion works, didn't I?”</p><p> </p><p>“We never doubted your talent Theo, only your morals. Let’s go before I dwell too much on the fact that Weasley’s holding my witch’s hand. Again,” Draco said, and Hermione’s frustrated reply was cut off by the pops of apparition that suddenly filled the room. </p><p> </p><p>“Ready?” Blaise asked, and Hermione pulled both him and Ron sideways into her before she twisted on the spot, apparating them all back to the Ministry.</p><p> </p><p>They waited outside until someone opened the doors to the Atrium, allowing them to carefully slip inside. They had already decided that staying together as a big group was too risky. Instead, they planned to make their way in pairs to the Death Room and then reconvene inside it. </p><p> </p><p>Creeping through the Ministry’s halls with Blaise and Ron reminded Hermione strongly of being under Harry’s invisibility cloak at Hogwarts. They didn’t dare speak to each other in case someone overheard them. The Ministry was still full of people leaving work for the day. They darted as quietly as they could into the mercifully almost empty lift, shrinking into each other in the corner as much as was possible. </p><p> </p><p>“Wait,” Blaise whispered once they were back in the black tiled corridor, and they all froze as a pair of Unspeakables left the D.O.M. for the night. Being under the Disillusionment Drought seemed to fool the D.O.M. 's vision sensors, and since Blaise had secretly disabled the energy based monitors earlier in the day, they slipped inside without any further problems. </p><p> </p><p>They made it to the door of the Death Room. Blaise checked that the coast was clear, then pressed his badge to the door, which swung open obligingly. Once they were all inside, Hermione eyed the veil with trepidation. It didn't matter how many times she came in here. It still unnerved her. </p><p> </p><p>Blaise passed his badge to Ron, wished him luck, and saw him safely back out of the door with a thank you and an apology for Draco’s grumpiness, then came to sit at the top of the steps with everyone else. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I just love this department,” Daphne said softly, “If I didn't like my current job so much, I'd apply for something down here.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know, love,” Theo said soothingly. “What do we do now then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I dunno. Play invisible games or something?” Draco quipped. “Couldn’t you have invented a potion that wears off when you need it to, Theo?”</p><p> </p><p>Theo laughed. “You give me the recipe for that, mate, and I’ll happily make it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm,” Draco muttered. There was a clunk as he put a small wooden box on the stone steps. “Anyone want a look at this?” </p><p> </p><p>“Fuck yes!” Theo said, shuffling forwards and opening the lid. “Oh, my sweet Merlin. Was this really owned by-”</p><p> </p><p>“We think so,” Draco confirmed. Hermione stared at the box with trepidation. It was strange watching the lid open, and the antique silver knife inside float out as Theo’s invisible hand lifted it. </p><p> </p><p>“Where are you, Hermione?” </p><p> </p><p>“I’m here.” She shuffled towards the sound of Draco’s voice and, after a moment of flailing in mid-air took his hand. </p><p> </p><p>“We think the knife and the blood collection dish once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. “Whether that's true or not, it certainly came from Marvolo Gaunt’s hovel via the Dark Lord himself. Its dark magic credentials are impeccable.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck!” Theo muttered again, examining the knife and holding it out to what was presumably Blaise.</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever it’s history, I think cutting yourselves with it is still going to hurt boys. Have you got the pain potions?” Daphne asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yep,” Draco confirmed as Hermione took the silver knife Blaise offered her with a shiver of unease. It felt frigid in her hand, and painful tingles travelled away from it and up her arm. She passed it hurriedly on to Draco with a shiver. </p><p> </p><p>“You can’t use pain potions, I’m afraid,” Theo said, “not till after the ritual anyway. “Potions in your blood will mess with the power of the magic.” </p><p> </p><p>Draco sighed. “Fine. What about this invisibility one we’ve all just taken then? That’s still a potion.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s undetectable as soon as it wears off. It won’t make any difference.”</p><p> </p><p>Half an hour later, Hermione grimaced as the disillusionment potion did indeed start to wear off. Her body felt as if it was coming back to life in stages, everything tingled as it reappeared, and finally, Hermione was sitting in the Death Room with the others, all of whom were now fully visible again. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, that was weird,” she said, examining her newly reappeared fingers and staring at the others in surprise. “What now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Now we do the ritual,” Blaise said. “And we hope to Merlin it works and that nothing untoward happens.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hermione found herself desperately hoping the same thing an hour later. “Right,” Theo said, standing back to look critically at her and Harry’s artwork. “That’s actually not bad. I’m not convinced that blood is going to catch on as a mainstream body paint medium, but your actual drawing is pretty good.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry laughed as Hermione smiled. She put her paintbrush down and sat back to study Draco’s chest herself. Once she had gotten over her initial squeamishness at painting in her boyfriend’s blood, it hadn’t been difficult to copy Sirius’s tattoos from an old, topless photograph of him onto Draco’s milky white skin. She squinted at the photo and then back at Draco, then gave a satisfied nod. It looked like they had done an excellent job.</p><p> </p><p>“What do these runic tattoos all mean then?” Blaise asked, moving away to set up dishes for the herbs and incense they were going to burn. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, this main one is the alchemical symbol for amalgamation, but it also means grey wolf,” Hermione said, pointing to the umbrella shaped one on Draco’s upper chest.</p><p> </p><p>Theo snorted, “this is on the guy who denied being in love with Lupin all his life, right? Grey wolf. Honestly!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, well, Lupin admitted his feelings for Sirius the other day, for the first time ever, so there’s hope for all of that yet.” Harry nodded, locking eyes with Draco. “Is it weird to kiss you while you’re covered in my Godfather’s blood painted, runic tattoos, do you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco appeared to weigh up the question. “Extremely,” he said with a chuckle, “but this entire situation is as weird as fuck, so come here, Potter.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry paused in front of him and studied Draco’s body himself. “These ones here symbolize trees, this is the yew, and this the ash. This is the runic symbol for setbacks. Sirius told me the meaning of those himself. These two are Viking symbols,” he pointed to Draco’s left pectoral, “this here is a binding rune, and this one symbolizes needs and wants.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why do these ones translate to nearly human?” Draco asked, squinting down at his own body.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, come on!” Theo exclaimed incredulously, “it’s symbolizing Lupin again, surely! You've got need, want, binding, grey wolves and nearly human, if he doesn’t pop out of the arch and get it together with the guy, I think I’ll personally throw him back through.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t forget that Sirius was also an animagus,” Hermione said, watching Harry and Draco kiss for a moment. “So it could refer to that too. It’s your turn for the blood painting now,” she said, turning to face Theo.</p><p> </p><p>Theo nodded and settled himself obligingly on the stone steps to take his top off. Hermione looked at him apologetically as she doubtfully fingered the icy cold, silver knife. He took it from her with a cheeky grin. “You don’t look right wielding that, my love. Daph, can you do the honors medically again please, you know I’m too much of a wuss to cut myself.”</p><p> </p><p>Twenty minutes later, they were ready to begin the ritual. Hermione fought against the prickle of unease that kept threatening to engulf her. No matter what she said out loud or told herself internally, she was currently knee deep in heavy and dark blood magic, and she wasn't at all comfortable with the situation. </p><p>
  
</p><p>She took a deep breath and peered critically at both Draco and Theo. They had painted replicas of Draco’s tattoos onto Theo and added three sets of painted, protective runes to each of them. </p><p>
  
</p><p>“Right. Let's check all of our intentions for this spell,” Blaise said as Daphne started to light the herbs and incense with her wand. Perfumed smoke rose into the air from each dish as she moved around the room. “What intention are you using to cast this Draco?”</p><p>
  
</p><p>“I want this for Harry,” he said simply. “I’ve been secretly in love with him and Hermione for years, so I can hardly comment on Sirius and Remus hiding their feelings for each other. I know I have dark magic inside of me, but my intention is pure. If I can use my power to do this for the man I love, then I will. My other intention is to keep myself tethered to both of them and not to slip the wrong way through the arch.”</p><p>
  
</p><p>Blaise nodded once. “Hermione?”</p><p>
  
</p><p>She stared in surprise at Draco for a few moments, and the swell of happiness his words caused pushed back some of the fear in her heart. “Same,” she agreed, putting the paintbrush down and picking up Sirius’s old leather jacket. “I love Harry, and I just want to bring Sirius back for him. I’ve also fallen in love with Draco, and I want to keep both him and Harry safely tethered to myself and to this world and to ensure that nothing bad happens to any of us during the ritual.”</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Harry?”</p><p>
  
</p><p>Harry looked deeply affected by both of their words, “I want my Godfather back, so my intention for that part of the spell is simple. I am also in love with Hermione and Draco, so my other intention is to keep them safely tethered to myself and to this world.”</p><p>
  
</p><p>Blaise was smiling softly as he nodded at all three of them. “Daph?”</p><p>
  
</p><p>“I have no part in this spell. Therefore I need no intention for it. My only intention here is to keep you all safe and to heal anyone who needs it. My care for you all should help hold you all to this existence as well.”</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Theo?”</p><p>
  
</p><p>Theo smirked but sobered as Blaise raised an eyebrow in warning. “Alright, I’m saying nothing, I’ll behave. I want to use Draco to hook Sirius back, and I want to keep you all tethered together and to this plane of existence. I won’t lose any of you through this damn arch.”</p><p>
  
</p><p>Blaise nodded. “And I want to prove my theories. If I can also bring back someone who should be alive and means a lot to my friends, well, I guess that's a bonus. I also want to act as the full grounding tether to pull you all back when it’s needed.” He looked around the room, locking eyes significantly with Theo and then Draco as everyone nodded. “So we’re all clear with our intentions. Let's get into position. You ready?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco stood in front of the veil with Sirius’ leather jacket on the floor in front of him. Hermione moved to stand at his right, and Harry took up position to his left. Theo stood directly behind Draco, and Blaise stood behind Theo to act as the last anchor should it become needed. “You ready?” Draco glanced back at Theo, who nodded determinedly. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ve got you, mate.”</p><p> </p><p>“Same,” Blaise said quietly. </p><p> </p><p>Daphne waved her wand, and several small pieces of parchment hovered in the air in front of each of them. “Check you’ve all got the right incantations, please, Theo, Blaise, you should have the anchoring ones. The rest of you should have the pulling incantation.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione checked her parchment and confirmed that she did, indeed, have the right set. </p><p> </p><p>“See you on the other side then.” Draco reached out and squeezed both Harry and Hermione’s hand, then stroked the silver knife once more across his palm. He squeezed his hand closed, and Hermione winced as blood pooled in his palm. As he started to voice the words of his part of the spell, Theo and Blaise began to murmur the anchoring spell aloud. Draco squeezed his hand closed, and blood droplets began to fall onto the leather jacket as his voice grew more assertive.</p><p> </p><p>“Producturus eum cedens Canis occidit astro.</p><p>Sanguis sanguinem meum. Afferte huc illum ad me. </p><p>Ianua regni alteri abicitis victimam meam et videbis </p><p>Sirius Black, sit omne </p><p>Reducere vitam </p><p> </p><p>Bring him forth, the dog star.</p><p>Blood of my blood, bring him to me.</p><p>Open the gates to the other realm.</p><p>See my sacrifice,</p><p>Let Sirius Black be whole.</p><p>Bring him back to life!” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione gasped as after Draco’s first repetition of the incantation the veil started to flutter more obviously. Harry’s eyes widened as he stared in alarm at the archway. A gentle breeze stirred in the room, apparently coming from nowhere, while the lighting flickered several times. </p><p> </p><p>“Draco, if you want to do what we’ve agreed, repeat the incantantion but drop your Occlumency guard,” Theo said quietly. “You're blocking the spell with it. You need to trust me. I’ll not let you go.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nor me.” Blaise agreed. Draco took a deep breath and gave a nod. He repeated the spell twice more, and gradually the gentle breeze strengthened until it turned into a raging tempest. The lights went out entirely, and Daphne lit some windproof candles with her wand. </p><p> </p><p>“Again,” Theo said. “Louder this time. Call the power you’re afraid of and use it. Mate, you know how to do this. Keep the intentions pure by focusing on Harry and Hermione, then let the Dark Mark’s power in. We’ve got you.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione gasped as Draco staggered. “Don’t move Hermione!” Blaise’s voice held such a warning that she obeyed without question. “We’ve got him, I promise. Harry, Hermione, if you want to help him, you need to add your power in as well. Add your blood to Draco’s and put your wands to his. But be sure about it. You’ve all voiced an intention to be tethered together. If you add your blood here, you will be blood bonded, and that can’t be undone, so be sure.”</p><p> </p><p>Daphne passed Harry the knife, and without hesitation, he cut his own palm and added a few drops of his blood to Draco’s before touching their wands together. Draco was panting with exhaustion, a thin sheen of sweat was coating his face, and he looked as pale as a ghost. Theo gasped behind him and swore quietly. Hermione saw Blaise brace himself and step closer to Theo. “Hermione, either join in, or we need to drop the spell right now,” Theo said. “Daph, I need you too, get behind me, hold Blaise’s hand and touch your wand tip to his.”</p><p> </p><p>With a shaky cry, Daphne hurried to Blaise’s side, and Hermione held her hand out to Harry. “Do it!” she said, crying out as the sharp knife sliced through her sensitive palm.</p><p> </p><p>“On three then, and be warned, this will be huge. You’re a magical triad. The magic is waiting for your sacrifice as well, Hermione,” Blaise said.</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone chant their incantation loudly,” Theo said, “It's now or never. One, two, three, go!”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione wiped her palm over Draco and Harry’s and pressed her wand tip to theirs. The wind in the room howled, and as they chanted, both the summoning spell and the anchoring spell somehow blended together as one. The candles blew out, the herbs scattered into the air and fell as smoldering ash to the floor. There was a blinding flash of light and a loud bang that made Daphne squeal. “Blaise, help me hold him!” Theo shouted, and Draco collapsed to the floor unconscious. </p><p> </p><p>“Nobody move!” Blaise commanded as the room fell silent except for Theo, Blaise, and Daphne, who were still chanting one more repetition of the holding spell. </p><p> </p><p>When they fell silent, Harry lit his wand with a Lumos spell. Hermione couldn’t help the sob of relief that escaped her as Draco stirred feebly on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Wha-? What happened?” he asked quietly as Theo dropped to his knees and rubbed his hands over his sweaty face. </p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely nothing at all as far as I can see.” Theo glanced around the room at their shaken faces and the perfectly still arch and shook his head, looking annoyed. “Fuck!”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh wow.... here we go then..... THIS is what happened after the ritual in the last chapter!!! I hope you all like it! No more content warnings are needed on this one, if you made it through the last chapter okay, then this one will be a piece of cake, lol! </p><p>I apologise for continually adding to the number of projected chapters on this story by the way.... it is 16 now, but that's it. That really and truly does have to be the end of it all because there is just no more posting and writing time left after that!! </p><p>THANK YOU to my alpha/beta for ALL of your help. I'll be back Sunday with the next instalment. :-)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took a good ten minutes for Hermione to properly recover from the blast of energy that the spell had produced. The strength of the magical explosion appeared to have drained all of their energies similarly, and Daphne moved from person to person, giving out vials of the healing and restorative potions that would help them recuperate faster. </p><p> </p><p>Daphne lingered the longest with Draco. She sat beside him to tend him carefully, and took his vital signs several times over the course of the next few minutes. Hermione bit her lip, scared by his utter exhaustion. His eyes kept closing as if he was falling asleep, then he would jerk awake again, blinking in surprise at his surroundings. </p><p> </p><p>Harry looked equally terrified as he crouched by Draco’s side. “He’s okay, Harry. He just needs to rest. A good night’s sleep and a quiet weekend will see him right.” Daphne squeezed her fingers on Harry’s shoulder, and Hermione tried to believe her calm words of reassurance. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, we couldn’t have done any more than that,” Theo asserted, finally making it to his feet with Blaise’s help. He gave a deep sigh. “I’ve never pushed any spell that far before, another couple of seconds, and we would have lost Draco completely. It was Blaise that anchored the pair of us as it was. Thanks for that, mate.”</p><p> </p><p>“No problem,” Blaise said, still looking shaken as he clasped Theo’s hand. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay,” Harry said, although the disappointment sounded clearly in his voice. “At least we tried. We know we gave it everything, nothing is worth losing anyone else for.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco stirred feebly against Harry. “Dammit, Theo, what happened? Why didn’t it work? Your Dad-” Hermione frowned, not understanding what Draco was trying to say, or the stern look that Daphne gave him as she appeared to momentarily silence him. As Daphne lifted her wand, Draco cleared his throat. “Sorry. That hooking spell should have worked, though.” Draco looked at Hermione and Harry and then down at his hand. “I think we’re blood bonded now. Right?”</p><p> </p><p>“I have no idea,” Harry admitted, looking at Hermione and shrugging his shoulders in confusion. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione said nothing as she studied Draco, Daphne, Blaise, and Theo. She had the distinct feeling that she was missing something. All four of them were determinedly avoiding her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Daphne took Hermione’s hand in her own, gently uncurled her fingers, then ran the tip of her wand over the painful knife cut to heal it. “Yes, you are. Look.” She smiled as she held Hermione’s hand out with the palm facing upwards. A small crescent shaped scar had now replaced the long straight cut that Harry had made with the silver knife. </p><p> </p><p>Daphne took Draco’s hand and revealed an identical scar on his palm and another on Harry’s. “Blood bond scars. When you’re all recovered, you’ll need to look up what the bonds mean.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know what a blood bond means,” Draco muttered distractedly, turning away from the strange, silent conversation he was still having with Theo and Blaise to focus back on Daphne.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t,” Harry admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“Me neither. Well, not totally anyway,” Hermione agreed with a shake of her head. </p><p> </p><p>Blaise started to tidy the room. He packed up the used herb dishes, wiped the silver knife clean with a cloth, and put it away with the rest of the blood ritual kit. </p><p> </p><p>When they were satisfied that the room looked as it usually did, and they were all feeling well enough, they regrouped on the steps, preparing to sneak back out of the Ministry and home for the weekend. </p><p> </p><p>“No more potions,” Daphne said. “Not after that level of magical exertion. We leave here visible. That’s healers' orders, none of us are up to taking any more Disillusionment Draught after the amount of magical energy we all expended back there. Especially not you, Draco.”</p><p> </p><p>“But!” Draco protested weakly, “Daph, we can’t get caught in here like this! Particularly not Harry and me, we’re Aurors love, we could lose our jobs. In fact, we<em> will </em> lose our jobs if they find out we tried this!”</p><p> </p><p>“Then we sleep here in the Death Room until you’ve recouped your energy. No Draco, I mean it.” She glared at his furious but weak protestations. “Do you know what happened to you back there?” </p><p> </p><p>Draco shook his head, “not exactly, no. I think I fainted. </p><p> </p><p>Daphne grimaced as she put a hand on his arm. “You passed out, sweetie. You know what we planned, we followed through with it, and it knocked you out cold. Your soul left your body and went through the arch. You nearly took Theo with you, if it weren’t for Blaise and myself doubling up the back anchor, we would have lost you both.” She sighed, looking back at the arch with a shiver. “We already knew it was a strong spell, but it was made a lot stronger by the dark magic in the ritual knife and by Draco opening his Dark Mark to use the power held inside it. Then with the blood bond on top of all of that, it turned explosive. The spell nearly worked in reverse. You are NOT taking any more potions. Shoot the sensors out with your wand if you must leave, or stay here overnight and leave in the morning.” </p><p> </p><p>“For fuck’s sake, Daph, you’re as scary as Hermione when you put your foot down,” Draco grumbled.</p><p> </p><p>Blaise merely chuckled, opened the door a crack, aimed his wand at the sensor in the Room of Spinning Doors and hit it with an Obscuro spell. “There. I don’t fancy sleeping here when I’ve got Ginny waiting for me at home. Now stop arguing. It’s a good thing I mapped out every sensor we’ll pass earlier on today, isn’t it?” He led the way down the hall, stopping to briefly disable each monitor as they went.</p><p> </p><p>“Sometimes, Zabini, you really are brilliant. They’re going to know someone’s done this though,” Draco said mildly as they made their way into the atrium, ”security will know there’s been a break in at the very least-” </p><p> </p><p>“Shhh!” Hermione said, grabbing both Draco and Blaise’s arms as a pair of security wizards turned to walk in their direction. </p><p> </p><p>The security wizard’s mouths dropped open in surprise as Theo waved his wand. “Imperio,” he said smoothly, and the first wizards' face relaxed into a passive smile as Theo hit the second one with the same spell. “You will go along the corridor to the D.O.M. and reset all of the security sensors back to their usual settings. You will delete any trace of the energy surge that took place within the Death Room of the D.O.M., and then you will return to your posts where you will forget that this conversation ever happened. You will let us leave here freely now, and you will have no recollection of seeing any of us, or of this spell being used on you. The curse will end once you arrive back at your desks after this particular mission is complete.”  </p><p> </p><p>Obediently the security wizards nodded as they turned away to follow Theo’s instructions. Draco silently held out a hand for Theo’s wand, then passed it to Harry with a smirk, “can you wipe this, please, love? My energy is a little low right now.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry took Theo’s wand and ran his own over it. “Prior Incantatem Vim Extermina,” he whispered. A thin silver wisp of spell energy rose into the air and vanished as Harry passed Theo back his wand. </p><p> </p><p>“Cheers, Potter.” Theo flipped his wand through the air nonchalantly and caught it with a grin. “Do you have to be an Auror for that deleting spell to work? What?” he grinned again as Daphne glared at him, “it’s a valid question babe!”</p><p> </p><p>They stepped outside into the chilly but still bright evening, only to have their ears assaulted by a cacophony of beeps from Harry and Hermione’s mobile phones. “What in the name of Circe?” Hermione pulled her phone out of her coat pocket and opened what appeared to be a chain of text messages from Ron. “No!” she heard Harry say blankly, and she looked up to see him staring at the words on his screen as the last of the color drained from his face. “Uh…..”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Draco demanded, looking over her shoulder impatiently. </p><p> </p><p>Harry read the first message aloud. “It’s from Ron. It just says, “what the hell have you lot done?” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione checked and saw that her first message was identical. Ron had messaged them both the same thing. “Get back to Grimmauld now!” the second text ordered.</p><p> </p><p>“You have got some serious explaining to do!” read the third,</p><p> </p><p>“Nice one, though!” said the last one of the message chain. </p><p> </p><p>“Shit!!” Harry exclaimed, randomly grabbing hold of Blaise and apparating them both away without another word. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione stepped closer to Draco. Her heart was pounding, and her breathing was ragged. Just what on earth had happened, and why was Ron at Grimmauld Place? Knowing that apparition was risky, given how exhausted Draco currently was, she wrapped her arms tightly around him. “I’ll come straight back,” she promised Theo and Daphne, then twisted into nothingness, still holding onto Draco tightly. </p><p> </p><p>She didn’t linger at Grimmauld to see what had happened. She just set Draco down in the kitchen then returned to the Ministry to collect Theo and Daphne. </p><p> </p><p>Once they had all landed in the now deserted kitchen, she took a deep, steadying breath and led the others upstairs to the lounge. </p><p> </p><p>She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. </p><p> </p><p>She’d thought the ritual hadn’t worked.</p><p> </p><p>Apparently, it had.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello, Kitten!” Sirius Black said, looking up from the tight hug he was holding Harry in. </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hermione gasped and swayed weakly on the spot as Harry let Sirius go and stumbled across to a very surprised looking Draco. </p><p> </p><p>Sirius held his arms out, and his grey eyes twinkled as Hermione crossed the room towards him. Wordlessly she fell into his arms, hugging him back hard. </p><p> </p><p>When Sirius finally released her, she staggered with exhaustion, similar to the way Harry had. Sirius steadied her, then picked up her hand. He held her fingers back while he examined the crescent shaped blood bond scar on her palm. “Idiots, the lot of you,” he asserted, “risking everything like that.” Despite his emphatic words, he grinned as he looked around at them all. “Thanks, though. It’s good to be back.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s good to have you back,” Harry said quietly from his position on the sofa beside Draco. </p><p> </p><p>Ron sat in the chair opposite them, watching them all with approval. He crossed his long legs at the ankles and conjured a handkerchief which he tossed to Hermione. She caught it with a smile, using it to wipe her tears before she sat down weakly. “Thanks, Ron,” she said with a watery smile. “What are you doing here anyway? I assumed you’d just take the security badges straight home with you.”</p><p> </p><p>“‘Mione,” Ron sat forward in his chair and fixed her with sharp blue eyes, “I’ve been best friends with you and Harry since we were eleven years old. I know when you’re both up to something-” he broke off and shrugged “-I also trust you both enough to know that if you won’t tell me what’s going on, there's a reason for that. I came here because I was worried about you, and I wanted to be here in case you needed help, that’s all.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded as Sirius crouched in front of Harry and took his hand into his own, looking for and finding his identical blood bond scar. “Are you alright, son?” he asked softly.</p><p> </p><p>Harry appeared to be too overcome with emotion to speak. He stared wordlessly at Sirius then dropped his head into his free hand. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey.” Sirius moved forwards and pulled Harry forwards into his embrace. “It’s alright. You did it. You brought me back. Your love for me brought me back. I’m here now, Harry. It’s all over, and everything’s going to be okay. We can finally be the family we always should have been.” </p><p> </p><p>Harry eventually nodded, and Sirius sat back on his haunches to look around the room. After a moment, Sirius stood, then turned to hug Theo and Daphne. He thanked Daphne for keeping everyone safe, then smiled as he regarded Theo. “I thought you’d pushed it too far at the end there. It turns out you knew exactly what you were doing, though. Tell me, did Draco know you were planning to use him as a life hook like that? Because he looked rather surprised when you shoved him through the veil.”</p><p> </p><p>Theo looked contrite as he dropped his eyes to the floor. “Yes. Draco, Blaise, and Daphne knew I was going to do it. We might have omitted that detail when we told Harry and Hermione what we were planning, though.” </p><p> </p><p>Sirius nodded. “How certain were you that you’d be able to pull us both back?”</p><p> </p><p>“We, were... uh, as certain as we could possibly be. We popped to see my father in Azkaban. He was confident that we could pull it off. He told us what to do.”</p><p> </p><p>“Your father is Thoronus Nott? The man who’s currently imprisoned in my old cell?” Sirius queried.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Theo admitted. So I wouldn’t be surprised if you already knew that we went to see him, given that according to the energy readings, you still visit that cell on occasion.”</p><p> </p><p>Sirius nodded as he returned Theo’s grin. He didn’t seem to be able to sit still. He kept touching his own arms, his face, and his scraggly hair as if he was getting used to the idea of having a body again. “Your old man is one of the good ones in there. I pop in and out of my old cell every now and then to check up on him. We were friends once. I wish he hadn’t been imprisoned for so long.”</p><p> </p><p>“You knew we were going to try to bring you back, didn’t you, Sirius?!” Draco demanded from the sofa suddenly. He gave a sharp laugh as he shook his head. “You were waiting when Theo shoved me through the arch. You grabbed onto me and came back with me. Why didn’t you come out in the Death Room with me then?”</p><p> </p><p>Sirius threw back his head and laughed, “of course I knew! I’ve watched everything you’ve all been doing. You're a smart boy, though, Draco, for figuring it all out. Yes, I was waiting. I got diverted to where my life imprint was strongest. I came out of Harry’s diary.” He picked up the dog-eared notebook and waved it. “Harry sat by my bed for months writing in this while I watched over him. I tried to follow you, Draco, but the energy caught me and sent me that way instead.”</p><p> </p><p>“It seems to be rather easy for people to manifest through books, particularly diaries,” Ron said quietly. “Look what happened to Ginny with Riddle’s diary. Not that there’s any more similarities there, Sirius. I’m just saying that diaries seem to have specific energy or something about them that draws people in.”</p><p> </p><p>“That sounds like it could be the subject of our next investigation, Hermione,” Blaise said with a nod of acceptance at Ron. “Although, you're looking rather pale and being very quiet about all of this, are you oka-”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s quiet because we knew nothing about the life hook part of the ritual,” Harry exploded, cutting Blaise off rather abruptly and staring at Draco while still looking bewildered. He reached over to take Hermione’s hand. “You didn’t tell us about any of that. I can’t believe you did something so risky! It was so-”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Draco admitted. “We didn’t tell you. If we had, you’d never have let us go through with it. I nearly backed out mid ritual as it was, but then I’ve never been courageous. I trust Theo’s dad, though, and we had it all worked out in advance. The spell wouldn’t have worked if we hadn’t pushed it that far, it was all or nothing, Harry, and well, we went all in.”</p><p> </p><p>“For fucks sake!” Harry said angrily, standing up, crossing to the window, and staring out into the square. “Draco, we could have lost you through the veil as well!”</p><p> </p><p>“But you didn’t,” Draco argued. “It’s a little bit like the time you walked into the woods to willingly let Voldemort kill you. You didn’t tell anyone you were going to do that either did you? We all do funny things for love, Harry.”</p><p> </p><p>“You-” Harry hid his face behind his hands as he broke off, and his shoulders shook with emotion once more. “You said his name.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco shrugged, “I’m blood bonded to you two now. Some of that legendary Gryffindor courage must have made its way across. Anyway, I can’t live in fear of it forever, can I? What is it you lot say? Oh yes, it’s only a name.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco reached over to take Hermione’s hand as he attempted a weak grin. “So for you Harry, I’ve brought your Godfather back into the land of the living, this one’s for you then, Hermione.” He grinned as he let her hand go and stood up, holding his hand out to Ron instead. “Weasley, I hereby apologize for any of my past… unpleasant behavior towards you. Hermione has made it plain that you mean a lot to her, and since she means a lot to me-”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione couldn’t help the squeal that burst from her as she finally succumbed completely to long overdue tears. Draco broke off, looking back at her over his shoulder, “seriously, love, this is meant to make you happy!”.</p><p> </p><p>Ron grinned as he stood up too. “She does that when she’s happy sometimes, mate.” Ron shook his head as Draco looked equally baffled by her behavior. “Yeah, I’ve never understood it either. Sorry, you were saying?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve said it already. Don’t push your luck.” Draco held his hand out with a half-hearted scowl, and Ron took it, clasping it in both of his. </p><p> </p><p>“Thanks. I appreciate that. I apologize too, for my less than pleasant past behavior towards yo- oooof!” he caught Hermione and steadied a still weakened Draco as she hurled herself at both of them before breaking down completely.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you. Both of you,” she said when she had eventually composed herself. She pulled back to kiss Ron on the cheek and Draco on the lips. Draco’s kiss felt strangely different now. The touch of his skin against her was accompanied by an extra tingle that hadn’t been there before. Hermione released them both and sat down, turning to smile at Daphne, who was holding Theo’s hand with tears running freely down her cheeks.  </p><p> </p><p>Once the emotion in the room had died down a little, Hermione shifted her focus back onto Blaise, “this was where you disappeared to yesterday, wasn’t it? You went to Azkaban to see Theo’s Dad?” Blaise nodded slowly. “I thought you were the one who was the least on board with how dark this ritual was getting?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise sighed. “I was. But Theo and Draco seemed pretty sure of what they were doing, Daph too. And if you want to know anything about blood magic, well, after Rodolphus Lestrange, Thoronus is your next best option.” </p><p> </p><p>“How?!” Harry asked suddenly, turning to look at Blaise as well. “How the hell did you get permission to just wander into Azkaban at such short notice?” </p><p> </p><p>“Unspeakables have the same level of access to Azkaban as Aurors do. Theo claimed to have a family emergency that meant he and Daph needed to visit his father immediately,” Blaise said. “I offered to go with them so that Azkaban didn’t have to arrange extra security for his visit. It also meant that we could speak freely while we were there since there were no other guards or Aurors with us. I’m sorry, Harry, Hermione, I’m truly sorry for not involving you in this.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded as she looked at Daphne, “you’ve been in on this all along too?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Daphne said, shaking her blond hair free of its tie and wiping her eyes yet again. “Well since yesterday anyway. And, only because Thoronus was so sure we could pull it off safely. I’m so sorry, Hermione. I wanted to include you and Harry as well, but, and please be honest here, if we’d told you what we were planning, what would you have said?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d have said no to the whole thing,” Hermione admitted with a heavy sigh. “I was on the brink of doing that anyway, and that’s before I knew you were planning to go this far.” </p><p> </p><p>“So would I,” Harry agreed. I can’t believe how much you've all risked here. </p><p> </p><p>Sirius grinned, “well, happily for me, nobody asked either of you and here I am. All’s well that ends well. Now I haven’t had a drink for seven bloody years, and I happen to know that there’s plenty of alcohol around this house. Who wants to join me for a firewhisky?”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi and happy Sunday everyone.... here we are then, chapter 14, and I'm finally settled on the number of chapters now, there are two more to come, one's already written and so I only have one left to write.... I can't believe the story is nearly finished!</p><p>And may I just say, the comments and kudos we have received so far on this story have been AMAZING... thank you all so very much!</p><p>Thank you to my alpha/beta for all your help. </p><p>Anyway, no warnings are needed on this chapter, I hope you like it. The next update will be Wednesday, see you in a few days!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One hour and a full bottle of firewhisky split between them all later, Hermione looked up from their long overdue catch-up at the sound of the kitchen floo. “Who’s that?” she asked in alarm. </p><p> </p><p>Harry’s eyes grew huge. “There’s only one person not in this room who has direct floo access-”</p><p> </p><p>“Anyone in?” Remus Lupin’s voice called. </p><p> </p><p>Sirius abruptly broke off from the conversation he had been having with Theo to dart his eyes around the room. He suddenly looked terrified. The blood drained from his face as he gripped the arms of the chair he was sitting in. “Did you tell him you were planning to do this ritual?”</p><p> </p><p>“Kind of-” Harry said urgently, “but he went nuts at me for even considering it. And, that was before it escalated into the life hook part as well…. He’s going to go mad!”</p><p> </p><p>“Best get ready for a telling off then!” Sirius laughed nervously as Harry adjusted his glasses.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello….. Anyone about?” The footsteps grew louder as Remus stomped up the stairs. “I don’t want to disturb you. It’s just you said that the floo was always open and you’d ward it if you didn’t want visitors. I just have a weird feeling about somethi…..”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re in here, Remus.” Hermione glanced at Sirius and was shocked to see tears forming in his eyes as she opened the door with her wand. Remus’ footsteps froze at the sound of Sirius’ voice. There was a pause, a double beat of strained and absolute silence, then Remus appeared slowly in the doorway. </p><p> </p><p>He looked as if he’d seen a ghost, which Hermione supposed, he thought he had. He stopped dead again and clutched at his heart. His wide eyes travelled away from Sirius to make a slow pass around the room, then snapped back to Sirius as a myriad of intense emotions passed over his face. “No!” he exclaimed suddenly, backing up a step. “It can’t be you. It just can’t. I told you not to…..Harry? What on earth have you all done?”</p><p> </p><p>“I promise you, it can be me,” Sirius said gently. He took a step forward then stopped with a frown as Remus took an identical step back. </p><p> </p><p>“No,” Remus said vehemently, shaking his head as everyone in the room stared apprehensively at him. “No. It’s not…. I can’t be seeing you now. I’m not seeing you…. You’re not just standing here like this…..because…. I can’t……. Sirius, it can’t be you. It just can’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why can’t it be me, Moony?” Sirius’s voice was soft as he wiped away a tear. “Harry told you what they were planning to do.”</p><p> </p><p>Remus took several deep breaths. He appeared to be fighting a losing battle with his composure. He took half a step further into the room and stopped again. “It can’t be you, Padfoot, because you came back into my life once after I’d thought I’d lost you forever, and the veil took you away from me again. I can’t…” he paused as his voice broke, “I can’t be seeing you now because I won’t survive losing you again.”</p><p> </p><p>“You won’t lose me again, Remus. I’m not going anywhere away from you ever again. I’ve been so stupid. I’ve spent my whole life denying my feelings for you. I’ve watched over you through the veil for seven years and I've seen how you feel about me too.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you saying?” Remus pushed his hand through the back of his hair in a familiar gesture of agitation that Hermione hadn’t seen for a very long time. Her heart ached with how much she had missed Remus.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m saying Moony, that I’m here. Harry and the others brought me back like they said they would, and I’m here on my, what is this, my third chance at having the life I’ve always wanted. I’m not going to fuck around and waste any more time. I love you. I have always loved you.”</p><p> </p><p>Remus’ gasp was audible. “I love you too, Sirius. I’ve always loved you too. But you know as well as I do that we can’t-”</p><p> </p><p>“No!” Sirius shouted, and Hermione jumped. “Don’t you dare give me any more of that bullshit. I know what you are, and you know what I am. I’ve never given a flying fuck about any of that anyway, Remus, and you should know it. In fact, if you don’t know that by now, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve called me an idiot over this quite a few times over the years,” Remus said weakly, stepping further into the room and gripping the back of the sofa for support.</p><p> </p><p>“Exactly. So it’s about time you stopped being one. Don’t you think?” Sirius’s eyes were blazing with a lifetime of suppressed passion as Remus finally looked up to meet them. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione gasped as she saw the change that slowly came over Remus. Rather than faltering under the heat of Sirius’s intense stare, he suddenly stood up straighter, and his presence in the room seemed to increase tenfold. Sirius quirked a brow in response, and Remus’s eyes changed from soft hazel to a brilliant, pure amber. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I do,” Sirius retorted. “I know exactly what I’m asking of you, so quit trying to intimidate me. It won’t work the way you think it will. Years, Moony. Fucking years I’ve watched you. Watched you and loved you. I know you, and I know that right now you want me too. You're not a coward. Come and get me.”</p><p> </p><p>“This is what you want, is it?” Remus let loose a very wolflike, feral growl. Hermione swallowed nervously. She wasn’t afraid of Remus, but still, she had never seen him behave in this way, and it was a little unnerving. “Because you don’t just get me, Sirius, you get the wolf too. And for you, there’s no going back from that. I got round things with Dora because the wolf knew she wasn’t his mate, but you, you're different. My wolf has wanted you since the day we first met.”</p><p> </p><p>Sirius’s breathing was unsteady, but everything else about him stood firm despite the raw power that Remus was suddenly exuding, the power that had many people in the room looking alarmed. Sirius just grinned. “Bring it the fuck on, then.”  </p><p> </p><p>Remus crossed the room in three strides and took hold of Sirius by the shoulders. Sirius just stared heatedly back at him, and after a beat, they both leaned forwards and kissed each other at the same time.  </p><p> </p><p>Hermione choked back a sob as she watched the two men kiss each other with a passion that threatened to scorch the entire room to cinders. Harry shifted in his seat beside her, and she gripped his arm, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene in front of them. </p><p> </p><p>When Sirius and Remus finally let each other go, they stepped back, both looking dazed. “Well, Moony, how was that for starters?” Sirius asked, licking his lips and grinning.</p><p> </p><p>Remus took a moment to reply. At first, his eyes were blazing amber, but each time he blinked, the amber receded somewhat, and eventually, they were back to soft hazel. “That was perfect, Pads. Just perfect.” Remus said quietly. “But, it’s changed things. It changed <em> me</em>. I can’t go back to how things were before, and you, you’re in a world of trouble now.”</p><p> </p><p>“No one is going back to how things were before, Remus. And I thought you knew, a world of trouble is my very favorite place to be. I don’t think we need to worry about telling other people now either, do we?” He gestured around the room, and Remus did a rather comical double-take. It was as if he had only just noticed that they had shared their first, deeply intense kiss in front of a roomful of people.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Remus rumpled his hair again and blushed deeply. “Uh… yeah. Hi. Sorry about that, umm sometimes I-.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t apologize,” Harry said weakly, “I’m just so pleased for you both. I wish you’d done that years ago.” </p><p> </p><p>“You're giving us your blessing, are you then, Harry?” Remus asked as he regained his composure, posture, and demeanor, turning back into what they fondly referred to as “Professor” mode.</p><p> </p><p>“I already gave it. In fact, where’s my wand-” Hermione looked around for it, but Harry just eyed Draco as he offered his- “Expecto Patronum!” The huge silver stag burst into the room as if Harry had cast it from his own wand, and strutted playfully around. Then it lowered its head, staring at Sirius and Remus expectantly. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, my Gods!” Hermione squealed quietly. “I’ve just realized something! You used Draco’s wand during the war, Harry, didn’t you? It worked for you when none of the others we found would. Do you think, even then, that the wand recognized you? Do you think it knew you and Draco would somehow end up bonded like-”</p><p> </p><p>“I like to think so,” Harry said as the stag returned to him, and Draco looked at it and then his wand in surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you reckon Prongs?” Sirius asked, his voice thick with emotion as he called the Patronus to him. He brushed his fingers through its misty silver vapor. “Do you approve of Moony and me together?” The stag stepped closer to the pair of them and appeared to nudge Remus closer to Sirius. “I’ll take that as a yes, shall I?” Sirius leaned over and kissed Remus again, and the stag pawed the ground with a front foot then tossed its head vigorously before dissipating into a cloud of silvery mist.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, you both just got my Dad’s blessing,” Harry said quietly as Hermione wiped her eyes on Ron’s handkerchief yet again. “I reckon my mum would think it’s about bloody time too.” </p><p> </p><p>“Come on, Pads,” Remus took Sirius’s hand as he nodded his appreciation at Harry. “Let’s finish this catch-up in private at mine, shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you mind Harry?” Sirius asked.</p><p> </p><p>Harry shook his head and grinned through his tears. “Go. I’m well looked after here.” He gestured to Draco and Hermione, “just, just come back tomorrow. Please. Don’t stay away,” Harry said quietly. </p><p> </p><p>Sirius paused to put his hands on his Godson’s shoulders. “I’m here to stay now, Harry. You brought me back, and I will always come back for you. Plus, Remus is a shit cook. We’ll be needing breakfast in the morning.” Sirius smiled as he leaned in and whispered quietly so that only Harry could hear, “we’re a family. You, me, Remus, Hermione, and even Draco. And I know you’re all bonded now, but I need to have a long, Godfatherly conversation with them about their intentions.” Harry paled at his words, and Sirius chuckled. They met each other’s eyes again, and Harry nodded. Sirius ruffled his hair, then raised a hand to say goodbye as he followed Remus out of the room.</p><p> </p><p>For a long time, the silence that followed their departure was broken only by muffled sniffles as everyone tried to process what had been a very long and emotional day. </p><p> </p><p>“Come on, love,” Theo said eventually. “Let’s get going, shall we?” Daphne nodded as she stood up, with Blaise and Ron following. </p><p> </p><p>“I think you three need some time alone together,” Blaise said. “I’ll pop by tomorrow as well to tie up any loose ends from our little, uh, adventure tonight.” </p><p> </p><p>“Night, then,” Theo grinned, turning to the room at large. “I think we can count tonight as a bit of a win all round. Don't you?”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>True to their word Sirius and Remus came back to Grimmauld Place the next morning. Hermione stopped in the kitchen doorway to laugh at the sight of Sirius bouncing around the kitchen and singing enthusiastically to the radio as he cooked breakfast. </p><p> </p><p>Remus looked up from the table where he’d been sitting reading the Daily Prophet to give her a broad smile of his own. “Good morning Hermione!” </p><p> </p><p>Sirius spun around with a spatula still in his hand and grinned. He crossed the room in three bounds and hugged her tightly. “Draco, good morning to you too! How are you both on this beautiful, fine spring day?”</p><p> </p><p>“Very well, thank you,” Hermione said, laughing as Draco stepped into the room beside her.</p><p> </p><p>“Is he always this cheerful in the mornings?” Draco asked, wrapping his arms around Hermione from behind and hugging her as Sirius released her to descend upon Harry instead. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m turning over a new leaf. It’s a new chance at life after all. Hello, my very favorite Godson. Moony, can you flip the bacon before it burns?” Sirius pulled Harry into a hug, and they both held onto each other for a long time. </p><p> </p><p>When they finally parted, both of them looked rather emotional. Harry moved Sirius’ shirt collar slightly to one side with a frown. “What’s this?” he asked, sounding alarmed.</p><p> </p><p>“Ummm,” Sirius rubbed a hand over the raised scar and pulled his collar back as he turned away, his grey eyes flashing with mischief, “might be a werewolf claim mark.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?!” Draco’s eyes bulged as he stared at Sirius and then Remus in alarm. Sirius turned back to the stove, took the spatula from Remus, and waved it airily before kissing Remus soundly on the lips. “Don’t look at him like that, Draco. I told him to do it, several times in fact. And fuck, if I’d known how it felt, I’d have hassled him to do it a lot sooner too.”</p><p> </p><p>“But!” Harry exclaimed as Hermione turned and looked at Remus properly for the first time. She was surprised to see that he looked about ten years younger than usual, despite his obvious, present worry over how everyone would react. His face appeared more youthful, his skin was brighter, and his eyes, usually a dull, rather flat hazel, were now glistening with amber flecks as they danced brightly in the sunlight. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s a mate claim mark?” Hermione asked, tugging Sirius’s top aside and examining the small bite mark herself, “as in, you bit him, Remus? But?” </p><p> </p><p>“And you called us idiots for doing a similar thing yesterday!” Harry laughed as Hermione stroked her finger over the raised scar. “I think there’s a muggle saying, something about pots and kettles that fits rather well here!”</p><p> </p><p>“Is there?” Draco asked, pulling a chair out at the table and alternated between looking confused and concerned.</p><p> </p><p>“There is.” Harry started making coffee as Sirius stood still, letting Hermione examine the mark. “So you don’t need a full moon to do this?”</p><p> </p><p>Remus shook his head. “No. I can mark my mate any time I so choose. It’s harmless for both of us. It just means that Sirius has committed to me and me to him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want some Dittany to put on it?” Hermione blinked in surprise and forced herself to stop caressing Sirius’s neck, wondering why she felt so strangely drawn to the mark. </p><p> </p><p>“Come here, love.” Draco took her hand and guided her away as she still looked unsettled. “What’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t need Dittany or silver on it,” Sirius said, starting to crack eggs into the pan as he flashed another grin at Remus. “I’m not infected with lycanthropy. It’s merely a claim. I’m his, that’s all, and you’re reacting to it, Hermione, I’d guess because you blood bonded with Draco yesterday. Draco has my family’s blood in his veins, too, remember? Plus, he and I are also bonded now, via the life hook.  </p><p> </p><p>Hermione blinked again and looked down at her palm. The crescent moon shaped scar was raised and prominent, exactly as Sirius’ bite scar was. It seemed that they were all linked together in some way now.</p><p> </p><p>“What about Theo?” she asked suddenly.</p><p> </p><p>“What about him?” Harry frowned, setting mugs down on the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Is he connected to us as well? And Blaise and Daphne?”</p><p> </p><p>Remus looked at her levelly for a moment. Hermione had the feeling he was assessing whether he thought she could cope with his answer. “They won’t be directly bonded to you and Harry, but in a way, we are <em> all </em>connected now. Theo acted as the centrepin of everything yesterday. He pushed Draco through the veil to hook Sirius out, but was held back safely by Blaise and Daphne. They are all connected to each other, to Sirius, and yourselves by your parts in the ritual. Sirius and I are bonded and you three are bonded. Therefore we are all interconnected. A ritual like the one you all performed has long reaching consequences.”  </p><p> </p><p>Sirius laughed at their stunned faces. “Oh, relax, it’s not really such a big deal, you were all friends beforehand anyway. Did you get cleaned up, Draco? I must say you and Theo looked positively alarming last night when you were both still covered in blood!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, right. Yeah, I’m clean. Did you, uh, did you tell…. Professor Lupin, <em> everything </em> we did in the ritual?”</p><p> </p><p>Remus looked up sharply. “It’s Remus to you too, Draco. We’re family now, after all.” He held out his hand, and Draco shook it without missing a beat. “And I must apologize for not thanking you for your part in the ritual last night. I was rather shocked, to say the least, and my manners were not all they could have been.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Sirius said. “I told him everything, including your use of the blood ritual kit and its origins. Once he’d calmed down, he admitted it was brilliant work. “The pinnacle of stupidity but brilliant all the same,” I believe were the actual words he used.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. right.” Harry laughed. “Well, thanks for that, Remus.”</p><p> </p><p>“But,” Sirius turned and started to hand out plates, “no more okay? I need you to promise me. I need all <em> three </em> of you to promise that you’ll leave the Dark Magic well alone in the future. I can’t begin to understand the risk that you all took, and I mean, okay, it paid off this time, and I’m very grateful to you all, but no more.”</p><p> </p><p>“I promise,” Hermione said easily, taking the plate he passed her. “Thank you. I wasn’t comfortable with it, I’d already decided that on my own.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, me too,” Harry admitted, digging hungrily into his breakfast. “On this occasion, it was worth it. Unless I could somehow bring Mum and Dad back with it, nothing would make me touch it again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” Remus said quietly. “What about you, Draco?”</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t necessarily go that far again,” he said, accepting his plate, “thanks, but I won’t completely close it off either. It’s my heritage, my upbringing-”</p><p> </p><p>“Mine too,” Sirius said quietly, “don’t forget we have a similar heritage.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco stared at him for a moment. “Yeah. I suppose we do. But you rejected yours from a young age, I didn’t. The dark side of things fascinated me. It still does, only now I know to use it for good rather than evil.”</p><p> </p><p>Sirius nodded, leaning back in his chair and pushing his hair out of his eyes. “Speaking of heritage, Harry, I love what you’ve done with this house, by the way, but please, please, tell me, the framed burn hole in the tapestry is still there?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry laughed as he nodded. “It is.”</p><p> </p><p>Sirius eyed Draco’s look of confusion and laughed. “When I left home at sixteen, my mother burned me off of the Black family tapestry. When I returned to this house years later, I put a large frame around the burn hole. A bright red and gold frame, just to piss her off.”</p><p> </p><p>“We couldn’t bring ourselves to get rid of that,” Hermione admitted, “in fact, there are a few different frames there now too. You’ll have to have a look. But wait, haven’t you already seen it? I thought you were floating around the house a lot, and I need to ask, Sirius, did you block me from reading Harry’s diary that day? And <em> was </em> it your presence I used to feel in this house so much?”</p><p> </p><p>Sirius nodded, looking saddened again. “Yes. I did block you, and I’m sorry for that, Hermione. I didn’t know what was going on with you three then. All I knew was that Harry used to sit by my bed and write when he was sad or angry. I just assumed he wanted the diary kept private. And yes, I hung around this house most of the time, but only in certain rooms, the ones I’d spent a lot of time in previously. I couldn’t get into the tapestry room, so I couldn’t see what you’d done.”</p><p> </p><p>Remus smiled sadly. “Did you visit me?” he asked, focusing hard on his scrambled eggs and avoiding everyone's eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course I did, you fool! I watched you, and Harry, and Hermione, and I watched James and Lily on the other side. I spent the rest of the time dodging the screwed up pieces of parchment that your daft partner kept lobbing through the arch, Hermione.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?!” she asked, startled. Then she laughed as she remembered how Blaise had tested and demonstrated his theory by throwing crumpled up pieces of parchment through the veil. She remembered him telling her that he’d done it loads of times already.</p><p> </p><p>“So could you see us all the time?” Harry asked, looking rather alarmed.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. Whenever I wanted to see you, I could.” Sirius sighed, "I stayed out of most things even though sometimes it was tempting to interfere. There were a couple of times I stepped in, though. Once was blocking Hermione from reading the diary and once was to stun that guy you went home with Harry.” He broke off and gave Harry a meaningful look. “Stick to getting you buzz from bungee jumps in the future, will you please?” </p><p> </p><p>Sirius looked haunted as Harry stared determinedly at the table. “None of you can possibly know just how close the different realms are and how easy it is to pass messages to and fro. Your Grandfather, Draco, has disowned your father, just so you know. Abraxus is very proud of you. James and Lily are also beyond proud of you Harry. They were both frantic that night. All I could do was use my energy to knock the bastard out. Where the <em> fuck </em> was your wand, huh?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Easy Pads.” Remus put his hand on Sirius' arm, and Sirius closed his eyes, inhaling slowly through his nose as he visibly calmed.</p><p> </p><p>“I know, alright?” Harry squeezed his own eyes shut and banged his fist on the table. Hermione jumped as the resounding bang caused the knives and forks to clatter. “I know I’ve made some stupid decisions, I’m dealing with it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is this the guy you wrote about in your diary?” Hermione asked and assumed from Harry’s lack of response that it was.</p><p> </p><p>“You're not on your own to deal with the shit you're going through anymore,” Sirius said, closing his hand over Harry’s still clenched fist, “you’ve got all of us around you now.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry sighed heavily and nodded, finally opening his eyes as Draco took his other hand. </p><p> </p><p>“So where else could you go then, Sirius?” Hermione asked, curiosity getting the better of her, “I mean, you could visit here, Lupin Cottage, Azkaban, and Hogwarts. Was there anywhere else?”</p><p> </p><p>Sirius gave Harry one more pointed look, then having driven his point home, he released his hand and allowed the subject to change. “You’ve just listed the main ones, but I could go anywhere that my energy remained. I guess my previous energy worked like mini windows for me, but if I didn't use them regularly, they kind of dried up, and I got shut out. I used to be able to visit the Shrieking Shack, but I got locked out of there after I hadn't visited it for about a year. I made sure to keep everywhere else open after that. Hogwarts was a strong one, of course, but you didn't look in the right place there.”</p><p> </p><p>“We did,” Draco said, "we looked in the common room, and your old dormitory-”</p><p> </p><p>“Did you look in Dumbledore's old office?” Sirius queried with a mischievous look.</p><p> </p><p>“No. Why?”</p><p> </p><p>Sirius shrugged. “I spent quite a lot of time in detention there with James when we were at Hogwarts, plus there's a major vortex portal there.”</p><p> </p><p>“There's a what?!” Hermione squealed, “why? how?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because Dumbledore had figured out the vortex enough to make one,” Sirius said grimly. “Unfortunately, no one quite knew how he did it, though, and he died before he told anyone except Snape. Dumbledore knew I wasn’t dead, and he was trying to figure out how to bring me back, but he never looked beyond light magic. He was too afraid of looking at what you three did. I think one of you once made a throwaway comment about the energy detectors and why he had so many of them at Hogwarts?”</p><p> </p><p>“That was me!” Hermione breathed, staring at Sirius, transfixed.  </p><p> </p><p>“Well, he had them there to monitor the energy levels around the school. He told Snape his theories shortly before he died, Snape was meant to tell you that I could be brought back, Harry, but of course, Dumbledore always trusted Snape a little too much. Snape never got over his grudge against me and therefore took the secret to his own grave.”</p><p> </p><p>Instead of looking put out by this, Sirius grinned. “Snape always was an arse. The bad feelings between us were mutual. Dumbledore also made the portal for another reason. His sister Ariana is the only person I’ve ever known who can move freely between realms. She’s dead, truly dead, but the spell that Grindelwald hit her with, and, yes, it was him that did it, purposefully to hurt Albus, lets her spirit wander freely-” </p><p> </p><p>Sirius paused at the chorus of gasps in the room. “Ariana’s not tied to any one realm. That’s how she led Neville and the rest of Dumbledore’s army from the Hog’s Head into Hogwarts and back so many times when they were hiding out in your seventh year. She and I became friends, and she can pass messages between the different realms. Dumbledore wishes you all well, too, by the way. He says you should forgive yourself for everything that happened in your sixth year, Draco. He says he’s never held any of what happened that year against you.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco blinked, and Hermione finally put the forkful of toast that had been frozen in mid-air for so long into her mouth. It seemed that she and Blaise had only scratched the tip of the iceberg when it came to understanding the veil and the mysterious portals it connected to.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Sirius surmised, gazing around the room and clearly loving the way everyone was hanging on his words, “with Dumbledore dead, Snape not disclosing his secret, Ariana choosing not to visit the realm of the living, and Voldemort killing Grindelwald, who cursed Ariana in the first place, the secrets of the veil and it’s vortex portals were looking to be forgotten.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione glanced at Harry who looked shell-shocked as Sirius finally stood up to start collecting their empty plates. “That is, until now.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh my goodness..... here it is..... the penultimate chapter!! (there is still an epilogue to come which is why story this is listed as having 16 chapters but I'm not totally sure if an epilogue counts as part of the story or not..... Anyway, I'm digressing!! </p><p>Just a little heads up, there is a smut warning needed on this chapter so please read that part of it with caution if you need to. </p><p>I hope you all like the ending, thank you for all the kudos and comments on this story, it has been such fun to write and it's so encouraging to know that other people are liking it too. </p><p>Given how close we are to the close of the competition, the epilogue will be posted tomorrow. :-)</p><p>Thank you to my alpha/beta for all your help and support.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione opened her eyes, blinking blearily in the late afternoon light. Harry and Draco were both snoring softly in the bed beside her, and since she wasn’t sure what had woken her up, she lay still and let her mind begin to drift. It was nice to finally have a chance to process some of the many things that had happened over the last twenty-four hours. </p><p> </p><p>She, Harry, and Draco had woken up that morning with the promise of a quiet Saturday ahead, but their plans for a day of rest and recovery hadn’t quite panned out. Sirius and Remus had stayed for the remainder of the morning, Daphne and Theo had popped in to check how everybody was and so that Daphne could administer more restorative potions to Draco, and shortly after that, Blaise and Ginny had arrived. </p><p> </p><p>Despite the extra potions Daphne had given him, Draco was still exhausted from the ritual. He had finally submitted to Daphne’s orders mid-afternoon and had reluctantly gone upstairs to sleep some of it off. Hermione had also been forced to give in to her own tiredness and had followed him up to bed half an hour later, leaving Harry to see the last of their visitors out. At some point, Harry had slipped into the bed as well. </p><p> </p><p>As she lay thinking, Hermione became aware of a gentle but insistent tingling in her body. She had been noticing it on and off all day but hadn’t yet worked out what was causing it. It was subtle, and it wasn’t exactly bothering her, but it was new, she couldn’t explain it, and it very definitely hadn't been there before the ritual.</p><p> </p><p>She frowned, wondering what was going on. The tingling wasn’t confined to any one part of her body, it seemed to be everywhere at once, and it was pulsing in time with the steady beat of her heart. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just a little disconcerting. </p><p> </p><p>She started to move her limbs to see if anything affected the feeling, but there was no change. Whatever she did and however she lay, the subtle but insistent prickling remained the same. </p><p> </p><p>Her movements woke Draco. He yawned, watching her flex her fingers against the light. “What <em> are </em> you doing?” he asked sleepily.</p><p> </p><p>“Everything’s tingling,” she replied, watching her fingers closely. “It feels weird.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Draco stretched, then tugged her closer to him. “That’ll be the blood bond.”</p><p> </p><p>“How do you mean?” she nestled back into his arms so that she was lying in front of him with him curled up, spooning her from behind. He kissed the side of her neck, and she hummed low in her throat as she pressed herself closer to his lips. </p><p> </p><p>“Blood bonds feel tingly. Like this,” he flexed his fingers in the air, “you’re feeling the buzz of my magic and Harry’s magic inside your veins as well as your own now. I can feel yours too. I like it. It’s comforting.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” Hermione said in surprise, looking at her fingers once more and resolving to do some research in the library over the weekend. Her knowledge of blood bonds and bonding rituals was scant, to say the least. “Well, in that case, I think I like it too. Will it always feel this strong?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Draco confirmed, kissing the sensitive skin of her neck and causing a rush of arousal to pulse through her, “but you won’t notice it so much once you get used to it.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded as he pressed yet more lingering kisses to her jawline. “I se-eee!… oh Gods, Draco, do that again!” </p><p> </p><p>“This?” he asked innocently as his fingers continued to slide under her tank top and around to her breasts, “or this?” she turned her face towards him, and he captured her lips with his own. </p><p> </p><p>“Both!” the word turned into a breathy sigh as he gently tweaked her nipple and rolled his hips into her from behind. </p><p> </p><p>“Do you know how it feels when you consummate a blood bond with sex?” She shook her head in reply. Already the feelings he was eliciting in her were more intense than usual. “I’m told that the initial bonding feels mind blowing. I’m told that a similar, although slightly less intense, connection occurs every time you have sex in the future, too. I’m told that if the bond is between three people, the bonding sensation is indescribable.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a good thing ours is going to be between three of us then, isn't it?” Harry said, opening his eyes with a smile. “I can feel the tingling too. I like it.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll make something tingle in a minute, Potter,” Draco promised, grinning as he moved out from behind Hermione, laid her down flat on the bed, and straddled her before leaning down to kiss her again. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh really?” Harry asked, rubbing a hand over his eyes and reaching for his glasses, “promises, promises, Malfoy. How exactly do you plan to do that?”</p><p> </p><p>Draco’s chuckle was low as he leaned across Hermione to kiss Harry instead. “Shift closer, and I’ll show you.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione watched them with a smile. Draco moved off of her as his and Harry’s kiss grew more intense, and eventually, he pulled back, leaving Harry breathless and clearly desperate for more. </p><p> </p><p>Draco used a hand to push Harry’s hair back from his forehead, then kissed his scar tenderly. “When you both stated your intentions for the ritual,” he asked, gazing deeply into Harry’s eyes, “did you realize you were asking for a blood bond? I promise I’m not using legilimency,” he said, dropping his gaze to the pillow, “I just need to know.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry’s eyes were sincere as Hermione turned to watch him, curious about the same thing herself. “Of course,” Harry said, reaching up to gently move Draco’s fringe out of his eyes. “We’d already discussed and accepted that it might happen naturally when we were talking about the ritual in general. I recognized the blood bond intention in what both of you asked for, so I felt secure enough to ask for it myself as well.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco nodded, looking satisfied, then turned to Hermione with a raised brow. “What about you, beautiful?”</p><p> </p><p>“I knew exactly what I was asking for too,” she admitted, smiling gently. She was touched by the vulnerability showing in Draco’s eyes and was glad he kept his promises and let his true feelings show, rather than guarding them with his Occlumency walls. “I wanted it anyway, plus I wanted to be in control of it, rather than to have it happen on its own organically. I was fairly sure of what Harry was going to say, so once I’d heard it from you too, Draco, it was easy to commit to it myself.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco’s soft smile told her that he was more than happy with both of their answers. “Good. And just so you know, I wanted it and asked for it specifically, too. So, exactly how mind-blowing do you want the consummation of this bond to be?” he asked, as he stared at them both through heavily lidded eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, we went all out in the ritual, didn’t we?” Hermione asked with a giggle, “I gave up doing stuff by half measures a few weeks ago. How mind-blowing can we make it, do you think?” </p><p> </p><p>Draco grinned. “Let’s see, shall we?” He inched closer to her and ran his fingers lightly over the fabric of her top, making her already sensitive nipples tighten further. She shifted, wriggling wantonly on the bed and enticing him to touch her further. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s already feeling pretty amazing. Everything feels more intense than usual.”</p><p> </p><p>“And that’s saying something,” Harry agreed with a grin.</p><p> </p><p>“How do you want to do it then?” Draco asked, still trailing his fingers lightly over her skin and leaving a trail of tingles in his wake. “We all need to come, together, at the same time. Happily, for us, it’s the mutual orgasm that fully seals the bond. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione gasped as Draco dipped his hand down under the covers and slid it inside her pajama shorts. He stroked his finger against her slick folds, and she sighed. The mere touch of his finger <em> there </em>was causing her blood to heat and her skin to tingle. He smiled as he slipped a finger effortlessly inside of her. “You're so turned on already, beautiful girl.” He stroked his finger in and out, making her whimper as she turned her face into Harry’s kiss. </p><p> </p><p>Harry trailed his fingers over her nipples, then paused to slip her top off over her head and arms. She lifted herself off the bed slightly to help him, and as she moved, Draco slid his finger deeper inside her, making her moan. </p><p> </p><p>“How about Draco in here,” Harry asked, sliding his hand smoothly down her body. Draco took his fingers and briefly guided them through her wet heat. Harry gasped in response, pulled his hand back up and brought it to her mouth, then brushed the same finger across her lips, “and me in here?” Hermione smiled as she flicked her tongue out, tasting her own arousal on his skin. “Or is that too much at the same time, ‘Mione?”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head with a smile, “not too… much at all…... sounds perfect.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry smiled as he moved down to kiss her body. He alternated between dragging his tongue languidly across her skin and pressing soft kisses in its wake. She closed her eyes, losing herself to the stronger than usual sensations, and lifted her hips to let Draco pull her shorts down.</p><p> </p><p>Draco nudged her legs apart and paused to watch her as she closed her eyes, losing herself to the sensations that Harry was creating as he worked his sinful tongue over the smooth swell of her breasts. </p><p> </p><p>She moaned softly as Draco started to kiss the apex of her thighs. He moved gradually, taking his time and watching her reaction as he finally flicked his tongue to where she wanted him the most. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione felt as if she was on fire. Every lick, every nip felt far more intense than usual. She was building faster than she usually did too, and when Draco sucked her over sensitive clit into his mouth, the shock of it caused her to jolt forwards into Harry. Her abrupt movement caused him to nip harder than he intended to with his teeth, and the sudden scorch of pain shot straight to her core, almost making her come on the spot. “Sorry,” Harry whispered as he soothed the sting away with more gentle licks of his tongue. </p><p> </p><p>Draco continued his unhurried ministrations, kissing and licking until she was writhing on the bed and lifting her hips in an attempt to get closer to him. He paused to reach for his wand. “Hold still, sweetheart,” he said, and she felt the familiar contraceptive charm pass through her impatient body. </p><p> </p><p>Draco dropped his wand, straddled her on the bed then smiled as he looked deeply into her eyes. “Ready?” he asked, and she nodded, wriggling underneath him as he lined himself up, then pressed smoothly inside her. Every little move felt incredible, every nerve in her body was more responsive than it had ever been, and the new magic in her veins was starting to pulse wildly. It stuttered and throbbed, filling her with such all consuming desire that after only two strokes from Draco, she was panting wildly and lifting herself up on her elbows, desperate to find release. He stilled his movements to watch her with a smile. “How’s that feel, sweetheart?”</p><p> </p><p>“It feels amazing…. please…. don’t stop,” she gasped as he pulled almost all the way out, then slowly pressed back inside until he was buried to the hilt once more. Her magic was flaring all around her as she tried to subconsciously pull him in faster. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s alright, we’ve got you. Just wait a minute longer,” Draco said, sensing her urgency and turning his attention to Harry.</p><p> </p><p>Hermione was so close to the edge that the mere feel of Draco moving inside her almost tipped her past the point of no return. She looked up into Harry’s fire bright, emerald eyes, and he smiled at her softly. “Steady, sweetheart. We all need to come at the same time, or we won’t solidify the blood bond.”</p><p> </p><p>“Please... I can’t...I need to come. Please!” she protested weakly, releasing a gasping breath as Draco stilled his soft back and forth movements to help her hold on.</p><p> </p><p>“Hold on, love. We’re almost there.” Draco said, doubling his efforts to bring Harry closer to the edge.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t! Harry…. Oh, Gods!” she tipped her head back and closed her eyes as she fought for control. </p><p> </p><p>“How close are you, Draco?” Harry asked. He closed his eyes and gasped as he continued to thrust into Draco’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m about to lose it too,” Draco admitted breathlessly. “What about you?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry nodded as he pulled away and moved carefully into position. Hermione opened her mouth, and he guided himself past her lips. “I’m on the edge now too. I love you,” he whispered in a strained voice, “both of you.” Hermione smiled as she nodded, suddenly finding her mouth too full to answer. </p><p> </p><p>“I love both of you too,” Draco said from behind Harry as he started to move again. “Easy baby, not quite yet.” Draco slowed his movements down yet again, and Hermione found that as she focused on Harry, her own need for release became more bearable. She hollowed her cheeks, sucking as Harry pulled back, and she felt him twitch in response. </p><p> </p><p>The air was thick all around them, and she could feel the tethers of the bond pulling her closer to Harry and Draco as their bond started to seal fully, merging them tightly and permanently together.</p><p> </p><p>For all his usual composure, Draco was the one who lost control first. “Oh!” he gasped, “oh, fuck! Now! Come for me now…. Both of you.” He snapped his hips, crying out, letting go, and thrusting into her wildly. It took no more than a few strokes before her overstimulated walls clenched tightly around him, and at the exact same moment, Harry pressed forwards into her mouth, spilling himself into her as well.  </p><p> </p><p>It was wholly overwhelming. The tingle in her veins increased until it felt like an electric current. She felt as if her blood was on fire. It raged and coursed through her body like lightning, and her magical core burned as it changed subtly forever. Harry pulled back to let her breathe, but she barely noticed. She gulped a mouthful of air and closed her mouth again, swallowing desperately as she felt Draco pulse deep inside of her.</p><p> </p><p>She felt the exact moment that everything sealed. There was one more flash of intensity, and then the wild and uncomfortable pulsing settled into a warm glow, and she groaned in relief. Everything felt right now. For a few moments, she had felt out of control. She had understood what was happening, but it had felt too wild for her to relax and enjoy it fully. Now that everything had calmed, she was left with a feeling of deep seated satisfaction. </p><p> </p><p>Harry looked as dazed as she felt. He was breathing hard as he moved back to give her space. “Are you alright, sweetheart?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded shakily as the heat in her veins settled into a much more comforting warmth. Draco tipped his head forwards, resting his forehead against Harry’s shoulders as he caught his breath. “Was that explosive enough for you?” he eventually asked, lifting his flushed face to look at her over Harry’s shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>She closed her eyes, shivering as yet another aftershock caused more waves of now blissful heat to travel down to her core. “That was intense,” she admitted, letting out a long breath of relief, “but it’s settled now, and I get the feeling that the overpowering energy thing was a one off.”</p><p> </p><p>“That was intense for me too,” Harry admitted, carefully moving back to lay on the bed beside her. Hermione was grateful for the few minutes of silence that followed. It seemed that they all needed time to fully recover and understand what had just happened.</p><p> </p><p>“I think,” Harry said after several long minutes, “and I really don’t mean to sound arrogant when I say this, but I think we all have pretty powerful magical cores. It makes sense that binding them together like we just did would feel overwhelming. Especially for you ‘Mione, you’ve always been the most private one of us, so it must take a lot for you to open up everything to us like that.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco smiled. “I think Harry’s exactly right, and it doesn’t sound arrogant at all. We are all powerful in our own different ways. Also, don’t forget, I’ve got this damn thing-” he waved his left forearm, “-that’s what gave the ritual itself its extra strength. Harry’s had a part of Voldemort’s power inside him at one stage too, when he was a Horcrux, I mean, but you haven’t, Hermione. So that may have affected things for you as well. I’m sorry if it did. I didn’t think of that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nor did I,” Harry said, looking at her in concern. “It didn’t even cross my mind. Are you okay?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded. “Yes. I’m fine. I hadn’t thought of those things either, but it does make sense.” She smiled as she rolled over onto her stomach and stretched. “I think we’ll need to try doing that again in a while,” she grinned cheekily. Now that the shock of the intense feelings had settled, she felt amazing. “Just for, you know, scientific purposes. I’m sure that intense overwhelmingness was a one-off, but I think I may need several repeat performances now that I’m prepared for it, just to be sure.  </p><p> </p><p>Draco grinned as he ran his fingers lightly over her back in the way he knew she liked. “I don’t know how the hell I ended up lucky enough to have you two,” he admitted, laying down on Hermione’s other side, "but, sweet Circe, you're both perfect.” </p><p> </p><p>“I hope it always feels like this when we touch,” Hermione said, tracing the outline of Harry’s dragon tattoo with her finger as Draco started to massage her back gently.</p><p> </p><p>“I think that part will stay the same,” Harry said. “It’s always felt amazing when either of you touches me, and that goes way back before the bond too.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure it will,” Draco agreed. “I think we already had an excellent bond, but now that we’ve added the blood magic in, that level of closeness and intimacy has only increased. In answer to your first question Hermione, I’m pretty certain that big power surge won’t be there again, so please don’t worry.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It turned out that Draco was right. The weather outside was terrible, it started raining at dinner time on Saturday and carried on all through Sunday, providing the perfect excuse for them to spend the rest of the weekend in bed. </p><p> </p><p>Every time they made love, the experience was just as spine-tingling as the time before, but as they had predicted, there was no repeat of the initial bond’s wild intensity or disconcerting lack of control. </p><p> </p><p>The thought of going back to work on Monday and facing the fallout from the ritual was an unwelcome one, and it gave Hermione further reason to squirrel herself away, letting Harry and Draco distract her in more and more imaginative ways until they all fell asleep once again. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione decided that real life could be put on hold for one more day. </p><p> </p><p>They had done what they had set out to do, and now she was right where she wanted to be. Whatever the future held, whatever ramifications followed their ritual and the risks they had all taken, she knew that they would face them together in the morning. </p><p> </p><p>She knew that she had come a very long way in a short space of time. It had only been two months ago that her relationship with Harry and Draco had started, and yet here she was, happily blood bonded to the pair of them forever. </p><p> </p><p>Everything in her world had shifted for the better. She was no longer numb or afraid of living. She had finally woken up. She was alive, she felt full of hope for the future, and most of all, she was happy with her life.</p><p> </p><p>She looked to her left to where her boys lay. Draco was cuddled up to Harry, and both of them were fast asleep. She thought back to the very start of their relationship when she had thought that Harry getting together with Draco meant that she would lose him, and smiled at her naivety</p><p> </p><p>She had been so convinced that Harry, and Harry alone was the key to her happiness that him growing closer to Draco had terrified her.</p><p> </p><p>How wrong she had been.</p><p> </p><p>By trusting Harry and opening her heart up to new ideas, she had fallen head over heels in love with both Harry <em> and </em>Draco.</p><p> </p><p>She knew now that the happiness she currently felt had come from taking some chances in life. It had come from putting herself back out in the world and letting other people and her friends back into her heart. </p><p> </p><p>Two months ago, she’d had nobody to turn to. Her world had been flat and dark. Now it was the opposite. She was blessed with two wonderful boyfriends, a fantastic group of true friends, and somehow along the way, they had managed to bring Sirius back through the veil to let him reunite with Remus.</p><p> </p><p>Everything was now the way it should always have been. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione sighed, then giggled as she felt both Draco and Harry reach out for her simultaneously. Their hands connected in mid-air, and Harry dropped his, smiling as he let Draco pull her closer to them both. </p><p> </p><p>Who could have imagined when they were back at Hogwarts that the three of them would end up like this?</p><p> </p><p>The ritual they had performed had worked in every way possible. Sirius had been brought back to life. But now, she knew that it wasn’t just him that had been reborn. Now she could see the truth. It had been herself as well.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The End!!!!!!!</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!! Here we are then...... I can't believe I'm posting the epilogue!! It's over, the story is finished!!! </p><p>Oh, this story has been such good fun to write. We are blown away by all the comments and kudos we have received and the fact that this story has done so well has only added to the fun we have had writing it. </p><p>THANK YOU if you have read it. Double THANK YOU if you have left Kudos and THANK YOU times a million if you have written a comment too. We both appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts!!</p><p>I hope you all like the ending. </p><p>THANK YOU as well to my alpha/beta who must remain nameless for just a little while longer.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Epilogue - Two months later</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously, Draco, do you not think this is a little….. flamboyant?!” Hermione asked, ignoring Harry as he stood beside her laughing.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course it is.” Draco smiled, taking her hand and shooting Harry an affectionate glance. “But I’m a Malfoy. We have exorbitant amounts of money to be flamboyant with, and neither of you ever lets me spend more than a few knuts on you at a time. People will think I’ve lost my touch if we don’t arrive at this party in style. Plus,” he dropped his voice to a whisper, “this will really get on Posy Parkinson’s nerves, and the woman is a nightmare. Please, let me at least treat you to this. It’s an hour-long journey to get there after all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not if we just apparate there…” Hermione protested fruitlessly, putting down the bag of gifts she was holding to gaze properly at the black, chauffeur driven limousine that had just drawn up outside the house.</p><p> </p><p>“You can spend excessive amounts of money on Daph and me anytime you like, mate. Just saying,” Theo winked as he and Daphne followed them out of Grimmauld and went to inspect the flashy car. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione glanced at Harry for backup, but he just looked impressed, so she shook her head and smiled instead. “Alright, okay! I guess I’m just not used to having this kind of money, that’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco dropped his head to kiss her, and the now-familiar blood bond tingle started to zip through her body once again. As Draco had predicted, the connection they shared hadn’t diminished in the slightest. If anything, it was still growing in strength every time they were together. “Get used to it then, sweetheart. Oh, and while we’re on that subject of gifts, here. This is for you. And one for you as well.” Draco dropped a gift-wrapped box into both Harry and Hermione’s hands, then stepped forward to join Theo and Daphne, who were now peering into the back of the car. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione unwrapped her neatly gift-wrapped box and gasped. Inside was a most unusual, beautiful silver necklace. It was large, round, and was embellished with runic symbols that instantly reminded her of the ritual they had all performed. “Draco, it’s beautiful….” she trailed off as he turned back to her, and she saw the raw emotion shining in his eyes. Theo’s jaw dropped, and she swallowed, somehow knowing that she was holding a rather significant piece of jewelry. “What is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s goblin made, and it’s from the same batch of silver that was used to make Salazar Slytherin's locket. But this necklace had none of the dark history that the locket had. Legend tells that this is the necklace Slytherin had made for his best friend at the time, Godric Gryffindor, to give to his beloved Sarena the night before they married. It made its way into my family, along with various other Founders' treasures several generations back, and they were all wrapped up and hidden alongside the silver blood magic knife in Malfoy Manor.” Draco grinned at her raised eyebrows, “this is about the only piece in the collection that doesn’t have a dark past. It became tradition in my family for the male Malfoy to pass this on to his beloved to wear on special occasions. Since Pansy and Neville are insisting on a private wedding, this is the only big occasion we have coming up for a while, so it seems like an appropriate time to give it to you.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione nodded, her eyes wide as Harry gazed at the necklace in surprise. “In case you’re worried, my father declined this particular tradition. He viewed this necklace with distaste because it came from the founder of Gryffindor house. I’m hopefully a lot wiser than my father is. I know that excellent things come from that house.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione smiled as Draco took the necklace out of its box. She lifted her hair to let him fasten the clasp around her neck, and she reached up to touch it reverently as it hung heavy and cool against her skin. “Thank you,” she met his eyes, and he smiled, reaching out a thumb to stroke her cheek. “What if I lose it, though? What if-”</p><p> </p><p>“You won’t,” Draco said simply. “But if you're worried about that, I’ll add a sticking charm. Here.” He pointed his wand at the clasp, and Hermione felt the ancient silver heat briefly against her skin. Draco gave her one last smile then turned to Harry. “Like them?”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione looked at the open package in Harry’s hands for the first time and gasped. “Yes!” Harry said sincerely, “I love them. But they must have cost you a fortune.”  </p><p> </p><p>Harry trailed off as Draco just laughed again. “I happen to enjoy spending money on the man and woman I love. Believe me, Potter, I can afford these.”</p><p> </p><p>Two silver cufflinks lay in Harry’s palm, each one inset with an enormous emerald. Draco grinned. “You can decide if they represent my house loyalties and are, therefore, my not so subtle way of laying a claim on you, or if they simply remind me of your eyes.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry unbuttoned his dark blue shirt sleeves and refastened them with the cufflinks. The emeralds sparkled against the dull material and did indeed reflect his eyes perfectly. “I think I quite like both ideas. I think I’ll tell people it’s the second reason and tell myself it’s the first. But just remember, love, you’re not the only one who has an overflowing vault at Gringotts that they can spend on the ones they love.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco’s eyes lit up as he leaned in to kiss Harry. “That’s good enough for me. You look stunning, by the way, even if we can’t control your crazy hair.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco turned to face Hermione, and she smiled rather shyly as his eyes swept up and down her body. “And you look spectacular in that new dress,” he said, leaning in to brush his lips over hers.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she whispered, inhaling the subtle scent of his cologne. She smoothed the red fabric rather self-consciously, she had gone shopping with Ginny the previous weekend, and had fallen in love with this dress the minute she had seen it, but now she felt a little less confident. She rarely got this dressed up, and the dress was quite a bright, attention grabbing color.</p><p> </p><p>“Stop worrying. You look beautiful.” Draco gave her one last, heated, lingering look and took her hand in his own. “Come on, the car’s waiting.”</p><p> </p><p>“And, the car has <em> champagne </em>in it!” Theo grinned, holding out a bottle. “Not only have I been in a muggle car about three times in my entire life, so this is exciting in itself, but I have definitely never been in a car that has a bar in the back!”</p><p> </p><p>“Come on, Hermione!” Daphne said, helping Hermione into the back seat and excitedly passing her a glass. “I just heard Draco comment on that dress. He’s right, you know, you really do look sensational tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” Hermione said, settling herself onto the soft leather seat and gazing at Daphne’s turquoise and blue halter neck dress with an equally broad smile. “You look beautiful yourself, Daphne."</p><p> </p><p>Hermione looked around the posh limousine and grinned as Harry and Draco settled into the seat beside her. “Maybe I should concede here though Draco, you’re right. This does seem a much better way to arrive at a posh party than apparition.” </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Parkinson Manor was big, bold, and just as ostentatious as Draco had described it to be. The limousine pulled to a halt on the gravel drive and a large woman in an elegant if rather garish, multicolored dress hurried over to greet them.</p><p> </p><p>The chauffeur stepped out to open the car doors, and Hermione followed Draco out of the back seat. “Draco, how lovely to see you,” the woman who could only be Pansy’s mother gushed, giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She pulled Draco and then Hermione into a showy hug then paused, regarding Harry strangely for a moment. “Harry Potter,” she said, giving him a particularly stiff hug, “here, in my house. Who would have thought?”</p><p> </p><p>“Indeed, Posy, who would have foreseen that back when you were supporting the dark side, huh? Isn’t it funny how things change?” Draco didn’t bother to hide his amusement, and Posy narrowed her heavily made-up eyes into a scowl as he strolled casually away across the lawn, completely ignoring the ‘keep off the grass’ sign. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione glanced awkwardly at the sign, then at Harry, who shrugged, and they both followed Draco, leaving Posy to scowl at their retreating backs, then greet Theo and Daphne in a much friendlier way. “Don’t look at me like that, Hermione,” Draco said, waiting for them to catch up, “I know I was rude, but I don’t like her, and more to the point, she hates me. She may not have a mark, but it’s still rather obvious where her loyalties lie.” </p><p> </p><p>Draco frowned. “Also, at one stage, my father and Posy wanted Pansy and me to marry, but we both hated the idea, so Posy’s doubly annoyed that we wouldn’t do what she wanted. My being here with you two now is probably really irritating her. She really is a vile woman.”</p><p> </p><p>“Draco!!” A familiar high-pitched squeal broke through the sultry summer evening, and Pansy ran skillfully over the forbidden lawn in her high heels to greet them all. “Hermione, Harry, you look… Oh, My Gods!” Pansy clapped a hand over her mouth as her other hand fingered the necklace around Hermione’s neck, “you didn’t?” she grabbed at Hermione’s left hand and glanced at her ringless finger, “but you’ve…. Oh, darling, that's as good as!!” </p><p> </p><p>“Easy Pans,” Draco laughed, “we all know I will. It’s just a bit early to propose just yet. For us anyway, not you, of course. I’ve just irritated your mother, by the way, so look out. Where’s Neville?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nice one!” Pansy grinned. “I admire anyone who pisses her off, as you know. Neville’s over there, or he was the last time I saw him. I tell you, if that bloody Lavender girl looks at him like she fancies him one more time, I’ll scratch her fucking eyes out!” Pansy said, sighing dreamily as Neville broke away from the group he was with and wandered over to greet them all. “Look at him, isn't he just perfect?”</p><p> </p><p>“Pretty much!” Hermione agreed as Neville approached, looking very dashing in a shirt and tailored trousers, and with his hair styled a lot more smartly than usual. Even Neville’s fingernails looked clean as he shook Harry and Draco’s hands, kissed Hermione, then glanced at the potplant Draco was holding. </p><p> </p><p>“Here, this is for you two. It’s a-” Draco paused, looking to Hermione for help.</p><p> </p><p>“Stephanotis,” Neville finished for him. “It’s perfect. Thank you,” he turned to Pansy and smiled, “look darling, it symbolizes happiness and new adventures in marriage. I think that sums us up perfectly, don’t you?” </p><p> </p><p>Pansy smiled as she pulled Neville towards her and kissed him sweetly, then turned towards the sound of apparition pops. “Yes. It really is perfect. Thank you. That’s very thoughtful of you all. Oh, good heavens, does someone want to rescue Blaise from my Mother?”</p><p> </p><p>“Rescue Zabini from a woman? Really?” Draco asked with a grin, “he’s survived his own mother’s homicidal tendencies this long Do you really think he can’t handle yours?”</p><p> </p><p>Pansy looked as though this was debatable, but Neville hurried away to help Blaise and Ginny. ”My mother’s had a soft spot for Blaise for years. It must be that Italian accent he puts on when he’s being charming. At least he’s brought Ginny tonight, so he’s got some protection. Ginny looks, oh wow! she looks fantastic, if a little putout, what’s that old bag said now?!” Pansy scowled as she hurried after Neville, the potplant still in her hand.</p><p> </p><p>It was effortless, Hermione found, as Draco handed her a glass of champagne taken from a tray carried by a passing house elf, to fall back into being sociable again. Stepping into the open-topped marquee was like stepping back in time. Hermione closed her eyes, took a deep, slow breath, and mentally ran through her sensory checklist, although these days, that was more out of habit than because she couldn’t cope without it.</p><p> </p><p>The majority of their old friends from Hogwarts seemed to be at the party. Hermione faltered slightly when Gregory Goyle greeted Draco like the old friends they were and settled quickly at their table with them. Still, Draco merely explained that the three of them were attending the party together and were in a committed relationship, and Greg didn’t seem the least bit surprised. He nodded, shook Harry’s hand, kissed Hermione’s cheek, and smiled rather shyly as he told them he was glad to see them all happy.</p><p> </p><p>It seemed that Hermione wasn’t the only one who had changed recently. </p><p> </p><p>She glanced around the marquee, sipping her champagne while she listened to Ginny and Daphne chatting beside her. Milicent Bulstrode arrived a little later, with Tracy Davis in tow, but there was nothing to be concerned about there either. Tracy didn’t seem to have any hard feelings at all towards Ginny. In fact, the two seemed to be getting on quite well, a fact which Theo loudly and cheerfully pointed out to Blaise as the pair of them pulled more chairs over to the now very crowded table.  </p><p> </p><p>Dean, Seamus, and Ron joined them as well, Ron had a beautiful blonde girl on his arm, and Hermione did a double-take when she realized that it was Hannah Abbott. Lavender and Parvarti had both brought their respective partners too, and when Pansy and Neville finally managed to extricate themselves from various different family members and sit down for a minute's peace, the evening felt like one giant Hogwarts reunion.</p><p> </p><p>The only difference was that there was no trace of any house rivalry or war divisions between them now.  </p><p> </p><p>Hermione thoroughly enjoyed herself. She danced individually with Harry and then Draco, and then with everybody else in a big group until they all grew hot and in need of drinks and fresh air. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione, Draco, Harry, Blaise, Ginny, Theo, and Daphne made their way out of the marquee to find an unoccupied table in the cool evening air. They sat down across the way from Augusta Longbottom, who was deep in conversation with a couple of Pansy’s aunts, and Hermione tipped her head back, enjoying the cooling breeze that ruffled her hair as she gazed up into the inky blue heavens. “Good evening!” she jumped as Gareth Greengrass and his wife Emily paused beside their table.</p><p> </p><p>“Good evening Sir.” Ever the gentleman, Blaise stood up to pull a chair out for Emily. She thanked him as she sat, quickly concealing the flash of annoyance that crossed her face, and Hermione frowned, remembering that both Blaise and Draco had been less than gentlemanly with their past treatment of Astoria. Their indiscretions clearly hadn’t been totally forgiven yet. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” Gareth replied, sitting down to exchange pleasantries with them all. “Tell me, Blaise,” he asked with a twinkle in his eye a little later, “do you still play Quidditch?”</p><p> </p><p>“I do, yes. Only as a hobby, though. Why’s that?” Blaise answered, looking confused.</p><p> </p><p>Gareth nodded thoughtfully. “I’m thinking of setting up a Department of Mysteries team. The D.M.L.E. has its own, as do various other departments. I thought we could do the same. I wondered if you’d be interested in playing for us?”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise nodded, sipping his champagne as Ginny clapped her hands excitedly. “That sounds good. What positions have you got up for grabs?”</p><p> </p><p>Gareth smiled ruefully. “Most of them. There wasn’t a huge amount of interest amongst the other Unspeakables, to be honest, since many of them are nearing retirement age or have family commitments. I could do with stealing a seeker from the D.M.L.E., too if either of you are interested, boys? You’re both linked to the D.O.M. already, so I’d actually describe it more as borrowing than stealing. It seems rather unfair that the D.M.L.E. wins every match <em> and </em>has the two best seekers in the Ministry on its side. Which one of you wants to join me instead?” He looked up hopefully at Draco and Harry, both of whom laughed. </p><p> </p><p>“You want us to play in matches against each other?” Harry asked with a raised brow to Draco, who grinned, clearly keen to take the challenge on. “You go if you like Draco," Harry added, "I’ll stay and hold up the honor of the D.M.L.E.”</p><p> </p><p>“In your dreams, Potter, you’d better prepare yourself to lose,” Draco smirked at the defiance showing in Harry’s face. “All right, Gareth, you got me. Consider me officially borrowed to whip the D.M.L.E.’s arse.” Draco held out his hand, and they shook, while  Gareth laughed at their competitiveness.</p><p> </p><p>“Chaser or beater then Blaise? Although, since we are outside of work and I can therefore speak more freely, with your aim, I think I'd rather have you as a chaser.”</p><p> </p><p>Blaise furrowed his brow. “I’ve always played chaser in the past,” he said, narrowing his eyes further in suspicion, “but why did you say it like that?”</p><p> </p><p>Gareth shrugged and sipped his drink casually.“Well, since we <em> are </em>outside of work, I’ll just say that it takes a good aim to hit every single sensor inside the D.O.M. with an Obscuro charm on the first attempt. I’d have thought you’d have missed one, but no. Not even slightly. You’re on the team too, by the way, Theo, you as well, Daph, since both of you seem to know your way around the D.O.M. quite well. There’s a place for you too, Hermione, if you’d like it.”</p><p> </p><p>Gareth laughed again as the table fell utterly silent. Hermione sat wide-eyed and frozen with shock until Gareth took pity on her and smiled sympathetically. “Hermione, it’s alright, I’m not trying to trigger you. Relax, please. I just like to apply a bit of heat to these boys so that I can watch them squirm. And that goes for my rather devious daughter too.” </p><p> </p><p>Gareth caught the eye of a passing house elf and passed them all fresh drinks from the tray the tiny creature was carrying. “The D.M.L.E. picked up the energy surge on their monitors, Blaise. I’ve been investigating it ever since. You're lucky, Theo, that it was me that searched those security guards’ minds and not Gaiwain Robards. As are you, Harry, for deleting two Unforgivable curses and not reporting their use.” </p><p> </p><p>Gareth leaned forwards in his seat as they all stared at him in shock. “I apologize for not trusting you to do the ritual you had planned. I have my reasons for mistrusting blood magic, but you seem to be quite at ease with it and very capable too. I don’t know exactly what you did to bring Sirius Black back, nor do I wish to hear specific details. However, if something like this comes up again, I promise to be more open to your ideas and proposals. We will discuss them properly and come to a compromise between us all. Next time I don’t want you going behind my back because I will not cover for you twice. Do you all understand what I’m saying?”</p><p> </p><p>He looked around as everyone nodded with varying degrees of relief. “Yes, Sir,” Blaise said. “And thank you for your discretion.”</p><p> </p><p>Gareth nodded. “Good. Blaise, you're my newest chaser then. You too, Daph. I’ll sort you out a contract too. How does D.O.M. linked healer grab you? And Theo, you can be a D.O.M. consultant. It’s a real shame I can’t have professionals on the team, or I’d rope you in as well, Ginevra.” He looked around the table and smiled. “Theo, you’re more of a beaters build, so I’ll have you there please, Hermione are you interested in being on the team?”</p><p> </p><p>“Umm,” she stared wildly at Draco, who just raised an eyebrow in question. “No. Thank you, Sir. I’m getting better, but I’ve still got a little way to go. I won’t rule it out forever, but for now, I’d prefer to keep my feet on the ground.”</p><p> </p><p>“Understood. We'll need scorekeepers and general support staff too, and that will keep you on the ground until you’re ready to play. Well, come on, Emily, my darling,” Gareth said, “It’s a beautiful evening for a dance. Our eldest daughter seems well taken care of here. Let’s go and find our youngest one, shall we?”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>It was nearing midnight. Hermione found herself dancing in Harry’s arms with her hands linked behind his head as she gazed up into his loving eyes. Draco had disappeared somewhere, she had no idea where he was, and he’d been gone a while, so she was enjoying a little alone time with Harry. Or as much alone time as one could get in the middle of a vibrant dance floor at what was considered to be the social event of the summer. </p><p> </p><p>The music changed to a much slower number. Harry pulled her tighter into his arms, and she accepted his tender kiss, then stilled as Draco appeared out of nowhere and closed his arms around her from behind. “Just so you know, we have the undivided attention of more or less everyone in the marquee,” he whispered as Hermione twisted in Harry’s arms to welcome him.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” She closed her eyes and swayed gently against them both. Throughout the evening, she’d had enough to drink to lower her inhibitions, and she found she was feeling rather bold. “Where did you go?”</p><p> </p><p>“Outside. I was talking with the others. It’s hot in here.” He accepted her kiss gently. “Am I alright doing this, or are you worried about what people will think, seeing the three of us properly together?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry and Draco both grinned as Hermione shook her head. “I'm fine about showing our relationship to the world. Are either of you worried about it?” </p><p> </p><p>Draco’s smirk was sinful. “Absolutely not. In fact, there’s a couple of photographers hanging about. If we do it right, I reckon we can get on the front page of the Prophet tomorrow. What do you think about that idea? We could get the coming out as a triad all over and done with in one go.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry grinned. “That would definitely save telling people separately, wouldn’t it? Hey, Draco, if you and I were to kiss over Hermione’s shoulder, it would be like repeating the scandal of us snogging at school.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco’s eyes lit up. “Fifty points to Gryffindor for that idea. Come here, Potter.” Draco turned Harry to face him, and just as the song ended, he pulled him into such a heated kiss that Hermione’s knees buckled just as the light of several camera flashes filled the marquee. </p><p> </p><p>“I think that should do it, don’t you?” Draco grinned, letting Harry go and pulling Hermione close to kiss her instead. </p><p> </p><p>“My turn,” Harry said, leaning in for his own kiss as Hermione pulled back from Draco. “Living on the edge is more fun than toeing the line. Isn't that what you say, Malfoy?” </p><p> </p><p>“I do,” Draco agreed, “and it’s a philosophy I live by wholeheartedly. But stop taking my beliefs to heart. They’ll only lead you astray.”</p><p> </p><p>“They already did,” Harry admitted. “They led me to a whole world of understanding. I spent a hell of a long time being confused, you know, wondering if I was straight, gay, bi or whatever else you want to call it. And the labels don’t matter at all. Now I just know that I want to have two partners, specifically you two, as my partners, and I want the world to know it. I don’t care what anyone says when they read about it in the paper tomorrow. Your philosophies, Draco, have led me to where I need to be, and that’s right beside the pair of you.”</p><p> </p><p>Draco smiled. “I think it’s called being demiromantic, Harry. But you’re right. The labels don’t matter. I’m just glad that you both love me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” Hermione said, laying her head on Draco’s shoulder and gazing up at him. </p><p> </p><p>“And me,” Harry said, swaying gently in time with the music. “And what’s more, I think we’re going to do alright together. The future looks good to me.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>The End………!!!!</strong>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>